For example, in 1980, then-Nebraska swimmer Kris Rutford was planning to host a party after the Big Eight meet. Bentz told the team if they won, he'd shave his mustache at the get-together.
The Nebraska men then won the program's first conference title since 1937.
"Sure as heck, in my basement bathroom, he shaved his mustache and never had another one," Rutford said. "I'll remember that forever for sure."
Mustache gone, what followed for Nebraska swimming was the greatest stretch in program history. Bentz, remembered as "one of the guys" by his swimmers, died Tuesday at the age of 84 at his Lincoln home.