2026 NEMFCA 8-Man Hall of Fame Inductee Salutes - Rich Mlinar, Greeley High School

Posted Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 1:34 PM

This is our last, but not least of fifteen 2026 Nebraska Eight Man Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductees. We proudly salute another one of 8-Man football’s brilliant two-way players, Rich Mlinar of Greeley High School.

RICH MLINAR – GREELEY HIGH SCHOOL

From 1982 to 1985, Rich carried on the proud family tradition of being an elite-level quarterback for the Bulldogs. In the span of his career, he passed for over 5,000 yards and led his school’s high-powered offense to two Cedar Valley Conference Titles, and also brought Greeley back to the Class D-2 State Championship Game in 1984 (avenging the team’s 1980 State Final loss in the 1984 Semi-Finals).

Behind his spectacular 69 touchdowns that season, Rich led the team to a Runner-Up finish while also breaking several state passing records along the way. His record 741 passing yards and 14 touchdowns in a playoff series served as a Nebraska 8-Man quarterbacking benchmark for the decades that followed. During his junior and senior seasons, Rich was named 1st Team All-Area, 1st All-Conference, and 1st Team All-State on multiple occasions.

After his highly decorated prep career, Rich was then selected to play in the 1986 Eight-Man All-Star Game, where he was named as a Team Captain for the East Squad. Rich joins his brother Jerry as the NEMFCA recognizes them for their career accomplishments in Nebraska Eight-Man Football as “Family Legacy” inductees to the Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

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*1000 Yard Guy sez…..Just like his older brother Jerry, Rich Mlinar was a terrific two-way player who, in addition setting Greeley’s Single Season Passing record (2,153) and Career Passing (5,406), Single Season Completions (144) and Career Completions (357), Rich found time on defense during his senior season to have 40 stops, 71 assists, 6 interceptions and 24 pass breakups.

THAT is what gets you inducted into our prestigious NEMFCA Hall of Fame with your brother! Pretty difficult to top that. Nice work, Mlinar boys.