Former Davidson head coach John Filar (pronounced FIE-ler) became the final member of Coach Connie Yori's first Nebraska coaching staff when he joined the Huskers on Aug. 13, 2002.

Filar returns to the collegiate ranks after a year off from coaching since leaving Davidson following the 2000-01 season.

Along with 10 years of collegiate experience as a head coach, Filar has spent more than 13 years as a prep coach and administrator around the country. His ability to relate well with high school student-athletes, and his organizational skills should provide several strengths to the Husker coaching staff.

"John brings a wealth of experience to our staff," Yori said. "His greatest asset is his ability to make others feel comfortable, and that has enabled him to be a strong recruiter. As a former head coach, he understands what it takes to get the job done. Even though he coached at a smaller Division I school at Davidson, he still recruited on a national scale, which could be a major factor for us."

Filar (10 seasons, 102 wins), Yori (12 seasons, 195 wins) and assistant coach Amy Stephens (eight seasons, 197 wins) have a combined 30 years of head coaching experience at the NCAA level, including 20 seasons of Division I experience. The three have also combined for 495 victories as collegiate head coaches.

Filar spent 10 seasons as the head coach at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C. Filar compiled a career mark of 102-135 after being named Davidson?s coach in June of 1991. He was presented with the monumental task of resurrecting a women?s basketball program that was discontinued after the 1985-86 season. After battling to gain respect in his first few seasons at Davidson, Filar put together a recruiting class that was ranked among the top 20 in the nation for the incoming class of the 1995-96 season.

Beginning in 1995-96, Filar led the Wildcats to four consecutive winning seasons. With a 14-12 mark in 1995-96, the Wildcats posted the third-best turnaround in NCAA Division I women?s basketball after a 4-23 campaign in 1994-95. The 14 victories set a school record, before the Wildcats? 15-11 campaign in 1996-97 surpassed that mark. Filar helped Davidson eclipse those records again with 18-win seasons in both 1997-98 and 1998-99. In 1997-98, Davidson tied for second in the Southern Conference with a 12-4 league record, and in 1998-99 the Wildcats advanced to the conference tournament finals, just missing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Before joining the Nebraska coaching staff in August of 2002, Filar spent one year as the Upper School Dean of Students at The Cannon School in Concord, N.C., where he has served as an administrator and coach. Before assuming the head coaching position at Davidson in 1991, Filar spent more than a decade as a prep coach and administrator at the Charlotte Latin School (1988-91) in Charlotte, N.C., and the Kentucky Country Day School (1979-88) in Louisville, Ky.

Filar earned his bachelor?s degree in business from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., in 1974. A devoted husband and father, Filar and his wife, Kay, have been married for 27 years, and have three children, Travis, 24, Jesse, 21, and Kaitlyn, 18.