Bushnell University

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

(Photo Gallery)

Mickey Loomis was a starting Point Guard for the Crusaders from 1975-1978. During his tenure he became well known as a tenacious defender.
 
The Crusaders won at least 19 games in all three of his seasons, winning a pair PNCC championships. His senior season will be remembered as one of the best in NCC history as he helped guide the team to their first ever national tournament appearance as they competed in the first round of the National Little College Athletic Association championships. The 1977-78 team is one of only three in school history to post 25 wins and the only team to ever go undefeated in league competition.
 
Loomis went on to a highly successful career in sports management and is currently the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the New Orleans Saints and the Director of Basketball Operations for the New Orleans Pelicans. His crowning achievement came in 2010 when he helped mold a New Orleans Saints roster that produced a Super Bowl XLIV Championship. 
 
Loomis, a Eugene native, graduated from Willamette High before coming to NCU. He finished his undergraduate experience at the University of Oregon and went on to acquire a master’s degree in sports administration from Wichita State. Before joining the Saints in 2000 he spent 15 years in the Seattle Seahawks organization, giving him a career of over 30 years in the NFL.
 
In 2005, Loomis helped steer the club through unprecedented challenges for an NFL team. He calmly guided the staff and players through a sudden evacuation from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, in addition to several moves of the club’s base of operations.
 
In 2006, after being the key figure in the hiring of Sean Payton, the signing of Drew Brees and essentially rebuilding a team that would advance to the NFC Championship, Loomis was voted the NFL Executive of the Year by Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers of America. He was also honored by the Sporting News as the George Young Executive of the Year, an award voted on annually by NFL front-office executives and owners.