Marking the 20th anniversary of the student pitch that helped launch Hudl, the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln honored eight individuals for their contributions to Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem during an awards celebration following the 39th annual New Venture Competition. The event was held at Hudl’s headquarters in Lincoln, where founders and Nebraska graduates – David Graff, Brian Kaiser and John Wirtz – turned their pitch into a global sports technology company.
“These honorees represent the best of Nebraska entrepreneurship with founders, investors, mentors and students gathered at Hudl, one of the most successful ventures to start at Nebraska,” said Sam Nelson, Bauermeister Family Presidential Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship. “Through their innovation and support of others, they’re strengthening our state’s entrepreneurial community and reminding us that the ideas students pitch today could become the companies shaping Nebraska’s future.”
The eight 2026 Entrepreneur Award recipients are:
Nebraska Distinguished Entrepreneur Award: Jay Wilkinson, '88
Wilkinson, founder and chairman of Firespring, began honing his entrepreneurial instincts as a journalism student at University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He launched Campus Connection and later moved to New York City while earning his Master of Business Administration. After selling the company, Wilkinson returned to Nebraska to build something meaningful, founding the business that would grow into Firespring, now a nationally recognized marketing agency headquartered in Lincoln and serving clients worldwide.
"The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is where I cut my teeth. I started seven businesses, most of which failed miserably before the one that ascended to where I am today," Wilkinson said. "Without the university, and the amazing professors, teachers and guides that I had there, I would not be anywhere close to where I am today."
As an early leader in the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Lincoln, a founding board member of Nebraska Angels and a mentor and investor in more than 100 companies, Wilkinson helped cultivate a culture of innovation across the state. By founding the Do More Good® Movement and the ROI of Why Conference, he continues to champion the idea that business can be a force for good.
“Jay’s ability to blend innovation with purpose, created a company that is both commercially successful and mission-driven. Under his leadership, Firespring has become a model for how businesses can scale while staying values-aligned,” his nominator said. “He is not only a successful entrepreneur, but a steward of Nebraska’s entrepreneurial legacy, and one who continues to invest his time, energy and vision into building a better future for business and society.”
Emerging Venture Award: Eric Dinger, '03
A marketing graduate of the College of Business, Eric Dinger is founder and CEO of Landoption, an innovative agtech platform launched in 2024 that helps landowners navigate the expanding number of conservation, carbon, renewable energy and regenerative agriculture programs available across the country. Dinger and his team built an AI-powered platform that allows advisors to quickly match land with the most valuable programs and unlock new revenue opportunities. Users can access more than 650 programs while benefiting from data-driven insights and automated workflows designed to save time and maximize value.
"I'm just so proud of the distance the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Nebraska has come from when Jay Wilkinson and I were doing this. There weren't cohorts of young people starting businesses back then," Dinger said. "If I could go back to when I started my first business, I would cherish the mentorship and the friends were trying to do good things and lived their lives with purpose, even more than I did."
Under Dinger’s leadership, Landoption already demonstrated strong early momentum, securing seed funding and building a growing network of advisors and partners at the intersection of agriculture, sustainability and technology.
“Eric combines entrepreneurial vision with disciplined execution,” his nominator said. “Drawing on his experience founding Thought District and Powderhook and helping launch Arbor Day Carbon, he has consistently identified major challenges and built solutions that help others succeed. With Landoption, he's taken his entrepreneurial experience and opened new income opportunities for landowners while strengthening the role of trusted advisors who help guide those decisions.”
Startup Executive Award: Brian Zimmer, '07 & '08 MBA
Earning a business administration undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration degree at Nebraska, Zimmer has been a driving force behind Don't Panic Labs for more than 12 years, helping grow the company from a small internal team into a 40-person software innovation firm with partnerships across numerous industries nationwide. Though he didn't start the company, his strategic vision has been central to multiplying the company's reach and impact many times over.
“As a former student involved in entrepreneurship at Nebraska, I've just been trying to grow and start businesses ever since I graduated," Zimmer said. "The work we do helps entrepreneurs and communities turn ideas into real solutions and that ripple effect across Nebraska’s ecosystem is what makes the work so rewarding.”
Zimmer’s leadership as general manager and partner, business director, chief product officer and chief strategy officer helped the company launch hundreds of software solutions, trained new developers through programs specifically targeting underrepresented groups and built community tools in partnership with the City of Lincoln. He also serves on the Tech Nebraska Advisory Board and is an adjunct faculty member at Nebraska Methodist College.
His nominator said, "Brian defines his role less by what happens inside the company than by what happens in the ecosystem around it, consistently showing up to connect entrepreneurs and corporate innovators with the resources and relationships they need to take the next step."
Entrepreneur Advocate Award: Brian Ardinger
Brian Ardinger, director of innovation at Nelnet and author of "Accelerated: The Guide to Innovating at the Speed of Change," spent decades building the scaffolding of Nebraska's startup ecosystem. The University of Nebraska at Omaha graduate founded NMotion, a seed-stage startup accelerator in Lincoln, which became a cornerstone institution for early-stage founders across the state and NXXT, which provides research, consulting, advisory services, immersive events and a network designed to accelerate collaborative innovation between entrepreneurs and enterprises.
"This award is about the community and the fact that we have entrepreneurs and people who want to support and help new companies grow," Ardinger said. "Gregg Christensen, who won the very first Entrepreneur Advocate Award was a mentor to me back in 1986 when I was state DECA president, so to be part of that lineage and know that I have helped others in the ecosystem. It's nice to see that legacies are being built."
Ardinger created ongoing events like Open Coffee, which still meets weekly in Lincoln, giving founders a consistent, low-barrier place to connect and grow. He also serves as a mentor, judge and committee member for Startup Weekend and LaunchLNK, and his InsideOutside.io podcast continues to amplify Nebraska's entrepreneurial voice to a global audience.
His nominator said, "Brian doesn't just support the ecosystem when it's convenient. He builds the institutions, shows up to the programs others are running and creates the recurring spaces where community actually forms."
Jeff Vaske Service in Entrepreneurship Award: John Wirtz, '05 & '06 MBA
Twenty years after winning the university’s New Venture Competition with the idea that became Hudl, Wirtz continues to play a vital role in strengthening Nebraska’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. He currently serves as the Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board Chair and a Community Fellow, helping shape the direction of the center while remaining committed to hands-on student engagement.
"Hosting the award's ceremony at Hudl 20 years after we pitched in the New Venture Competition is an awesome full-circle moment. Having worked with Jeff Vaske, whom the award is named for, on the Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board definitely makes receiving it extra special," Wirtz said. "The most amazing part of what we accomplished with Hudl was getting to do it with David and Brian and the team we've built. We had so many incredible advisors that helped us along the way, just out of goodness of their heart, and Hudl wouldn't be what it is without it, so it's an important obligation in my mind to pay that forward."
Earning his undergraduate degree in business administration and his Master of Business Administration degree at Nebraska, Wirtz mentors student founders in the center’s Accelerator program, judges the New Venture Competition and regularly meets one-on-one with aspiring entrepreneurs to offer guidance and encouragement. Named the 2026 College of Business Alumni Master, Wirtz spent three days on campus sharing his experiences with students. In the fall, he also spoke with prospective students interested in the new sports management major at the College of Business.
"John embodies the spirit of unwavering leadership, dedication and invaluable contribution that defines the Service in Entrepreneurship Award," said his nominator. "He consistently advocates for the strength of Nebraska’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. He also reinforced this message at scale, crediting the ecosystem as a key reason Hudl remained and grew in Nebraska following graduation, creating a profound and lasting impact on our state."
Faculty and Staff Entrepreneurship Advocacy Award: Tom Field
As director of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program and Paul Engler Chair of Agribusiness Entrepreneurship at the Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Field has championed students and helped shape a generation of entrepreneurial leaders for nearly 15 years. He helped start LAUNCH, a collaboration with high schools to support student teams building businesses and creating hands-on learning experiences. He also developed a makerspace through industry donations and designed the program’s “trek” travel experiences, taking students to entrepreneurial ecosystems in places such as Silicon Valley, Maine’s fishing industry and MIT, while connecting them with founders and companies across Nebraska.
"Something special happened at Nebraska, and it was all designed to see what students can do when we turn them loose. What they're building is all done because somebody gave them encouragement, permission and challenged them when they needed it," Field said. "The key is no one program can meet every student's needs, so we have a multi-faceted approach. We're not getting in each other's way. We're stacking, and when you do, you build a bigger pyramid, and that's amazing."
Field’s influence extends beyond the classroom through his engagement with alumni. By inviting graduates back to campus for fireside conversations, mentorship and judging pitch competitions, he connects students to a broad network of entrepreneurs and industry leaders. He also partners with the College of Business and the Center for Entrepreneurship to offer a popular upper-level family business course and collaborates across Nebraska’s entrepreneurship programs.
“Tom is a visionary who brings a remarkable level of energy and hope to students searching for purpose,” his nominator said. “Through his servant leadership, he inspires both students and staff to think bigger about what they can build and how they can contribute.”
Entrepreneurship Campus Fellow Award: Joy Eakin, '11
As the entrepreneurship program manager at NUtech Ventures, Eakin strengthens collaboration and connectivity across the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. An international studies and English graduate from Nebraska, she works with faculty, researchers and campus partners to support innovation and the commercialization of new technologies.
"Supporting entrepreneurs across campus is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work. I enjoy helping connect people who may not realize they are working toward similar goals,” Eakin said. “When faculty, students and campus programs come together around new ideas, it creates opportunities for innovation that wouldn’t happen otherwise.”
Eakin also collaborates with the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship for workshops, programs and initiatives that expand opportunities for students across colleges and departments. Through her leadership and support, she fosters a more integrated and accessible entrepreneurial ecosystem for students across campus.
“Joy consistently goes above and beyond in advancing entrepreneurship across the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and represents and supports our work at the Big Ten level,” her nominator said. “She understands that strong entrepreneurial ecosystems are built on meaningful relationships and excels at bringing people together in ways that create lasting impact.”
Student Entrepreneur Award: Senior Patrick Stolinski
A Nebraska robotics engineering major from Omaha, Stolinski serves as CEO of PROTO and is part of the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator program where he and his team gain experiences, mentorship, resources and support to move the business forward. PROTO started as a university student organization dedicated to ensuring every child in Nebraska has the opportunity to explore robotics, engineering and problem-solving, particularly in schools that lack the resources to offer STEM programs. Stolinski leads the for-profit side developing affordable robotics kits designed for hands-on learning experiences to introduce younger students to technology and innovation at an early age.
"Last year was our first exposure to the Center for Entrepreneurship, and we ended up winning $7,500 because we came over to the College of Business and realized a new perspective that we had just never seen before," Stolinski said. "Year to date, we've had exposure to over hundreds of students and educators for our low-cost robotics camps at one-fourth of the price of those traditionally on the market, giving students their first exposure to STEM. We're going to Tucson, Arizona, for the Hult International School of Business Competition focusing on social entrepreneurship, and we've been selected for $100,000 investment from the Jeffrey Raikes School of Computer Science and Management through the Startup Studio program."
The PROTO team packages the low-cost robotics kits with programming tools and curriculum that allow teachers to integrate robotics into their classrooms without specialized training or expensive equipment. By partnering with schools and community organizations, PROTO provides Nebraska students with opportunities to build, code and problem-solve while giving UNL students valuable experience in engineering design, leadership and community outreach.
A nominator said, “Patrick is a servant leader in the truest sense, consistently putting others first, investing in the growth of those around him and leading with integrity. What distinguishes Patrick is not simply his level of involvement, but the way he shows up in each space with intention, humility and a commitment to excellence. He is a role model who has earned a reputation as a ‘gold standard’ leader within the student community. By recruiting classmates into competitions, encouraging others to participate in entrepreneurship programs and building connections across campus, Patrick has helped strengthen the entrepreneurial community while inspiring others to pursue their own ideas.”
