Steve Erwin parlayed a successful athletic career and an agricultural background into a two-chapter career of banking and ranching.
The two-year starter for the Huskers in basketball from northeast Nebraska had a long career in banking, notably with U.S. Bank. Then in retirement, he and his family transformed their cattle operation in northwest Nebraska into a boutique brand of prime beef.
Erwin, 70, died Sunday from cancer.
Erwin graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1975 with a degree in animal science. His first job was in a livestock market in Norfolk evaluating animals.
He was in banking for 40 years starting in 1978. He joined First National Bank of Chadron in 1983 and was its president in 1990 when the bank was sold and he accepted a position as director of agricultural lending with FirsTier Bank in Omaha.
FirsTier eventually became part of U.S. Bank. Erwin was its Nebraska and Western Iowa region president from 2005 until his retirement in 2018.
His focus then shifted to Crow Butte Beef. Raising cattle in the shadow of the landmark near Crawford, the ranch produces prime, all-natural Black Angus beef for direct retail sale and through a contract with Whole Foods.
“I’ve always been in the cattle business. I bought my first 4-H calf when I was 8 years old," he wrote on Crow Butte Beef’s website. “I was raised on a farm in northeast Nebraska and my dad was a lifetime farmer, so I’ve been around agriculture all my life and working in the cattle industry as a banker just made sense.â€
Born in Wakefield, he grew up on the family farm near Concord. At Laurel High School, he was Class B all-state twice in basketball, making the All-Nebraska first team in 1971, and once in football.
He threw passes right-handed in football and shot left-handed in basketball. He scored 1,427 points and tallied 1,321 rebounds in his four years of basketball.
In 2021, Erwin was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame.
NU Chancellor Durward Varner recruited Erwin to play basketball for the Huskers. His interest in Erwin, who was 6-foot-4, was kindled during the 1970 state tournament, in which Laurel was state runner-up. He visited the Erwin farm while on a tour of that area and proclaimed he hoped Erwin would play for coach Joe Cipriano.
Erwin became a two-year starter whose forte was defense. Both years ended with winning records for the Huskers.
“No player at Nebraska has ever given as much effort as Steve Erwin," Cipriano said in 1975. “He’s been the key in a lot of our games this year.
“In a lot of ways he's been an inspiration to our club. They've seen how hard he works. There's been some players with more ability but he's battled them and whipped them for his position. He ranks as one of the most hustling players I've ever been associated with.â€
Erwin’s survivors include his wife, Janice; daughters Megan Kvols and Lindsay McLaughlin; and brother Brad.
A celebration of life service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 8550 Pioneers Blvd., in Lincoln.​