Lisa Johnson, the two-decade collegiate golf coach and former leader of the Idaho women’s team, found out early that her “why” in coaching the sport means more than a list of achievements, although she’s not short on those.

And it’s apparently translated to the Power Five level, where her first season as coach of the Big Ten Conference’s Nebraska Cornhuskers was cut short.

“Winning’s great, but it’s not everything,” she said.

It’s more about making a lasting, personal impact.

“Coaching at Nebraska is pretty much the same as coaching at Idaho or Boise State,” Johnson said of interacting with her teams. “(My ‘why’) is to have a passion for providing a great student-athlete experience to everyone I coach.”

The 12-year coach at UI (2007-19) and PGA professional built what felt like a parental link with her players, many of whom she keeps in contact with — sometimes through her new job.

Johnson caught up with former three-time WAC MVP and Vandal Kayla Mortellaro at a Peoria, Ariz., course near where the 2012 graduate lives, and where Johnson’s Huskers were playing an event. At one point last year, Johnson put up 2019 grad and professional rookie Sophie Hausmann at her home in Lincoln, Neb., then spoke with the German two-time Big Sky MVP on March 12 at a Phoenix-area club where the Huskers were set to compete in a tournament. Hausmann trained there for an upcoming LPGA-event qualifier, which she’d asked Johnson to caddie for her in.

That was right before the golf world was put on hold because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Johnson, who was hired June 17 to take charge at Nebraska, attended 2015 UI graduate Kaitlyn Oster’s wedding in early July. She’s driven to Kansas City to meet with 2015 grad and former NCAA championship qualifier Leilanie Kim; she is anticipating the Lewiston summer wedding of 2017 grad and all-leaguer Amy Hasenoehrl; and she also speaks highly of Kendall Gray, a 2018 graduate and now an engineer at Boeing who came to a Seattle-area competition Nebraska was at. Johnson has reconnected with past Broncos players like Katie Street, who she took to a Husker football game in the fall.

That’s just to name a few.

“I’m most proud of the relationships I’ve formed with the players I’ve coached throughout the years,” Johnson said. “It was an unbelievable experience to go to the NCAA championships with Leilanie. ... It’s been so fun to watch my players give it a go. It was an honor to caddie for Sophie at the (2018) U.S. Open and support her at the Augusta Women’s Amateur. Stories and memories like that are the reasons I coach.”

To be sure, Johnson isn’t only a personable coach who’s created a golf family of sorts. She gets results. Johnson coached three Vandal teams to NCAA regional tournaments, bagged a pair of WAC Coach of the Year honors, guided five players to conference titles, and a whole mess more to all-conference plaudits. Her teams were consistently among the nation’s best, academically. Along the way, in 2016, she earned her PGA Class A Professional status, “a defining moment” which she had put on hold to focus on family.

She continued UI’s upward trend — especially in recruiting — when she took the reins from Brad Rickel, her coach for a time at Gonzaga who’s currently heading the Bulldogs in his second stint. At Gonzaga, Johnson was named female athlete of the year, and graduated cum laude in 2000.

Johnson, as a UI grad assistant in 2000-01 while pursuing her master’s degree, coached beside Rickel. She left for the top spot at Boise State in 2002 and stayed for 5½ years before returning to the Palouse, the place her coaching career began and would flourish.

“I got a lot of jokes; I was called a turncoat,” she laughed. “I moved (back to UI) to be married, and to be an assistant for Brad again. Then Brad left a month later for Gonzaga, so I was hired as the men’s and women’s coach (for one year, before the programs split).”

In Moscow, she maintained a noted presence in the mid-major golf ranks. Nebraska athletic director Bill Moos — formerly of WSU — was familiar with her success. Her husband, John, a longtime athletics administrator, also was hired in the summer out of WSU to be senior deputy athletic director-chief of staff at Nebraska.

“It was a great opportunity to go to the Power Five level, which had always been a thought,” she said. “I’ve always been curious to see how I’d do.

“We took a leap of faith, and it’s been great. We love our jobs. And we’ve found Husker nation to be as great as the Vandals and Cougs.

“I do miss the people (in Moscow), I loved the people there. I enjoyed every minute.”

Johnson, who took over for longtime coach Robin Krapfl, is acclimating to the city of about 250,000, and her two new home courses — the flatter Wilderness Ridge, and the challenging, “target-golf” style private course, Firethorn.

Johnson looks forward to what she can do in recruiting, but she liked her inherited team’s direction, especially that of senior Kate Smith, a player ranked No. 101 in the country by Golfstat who had NCAA postseason potential.

“She was playing so well, so it’s extremely sad for her to not be able to finish the year, but everyone across the nation is facing it,” Johnson said. “There are certainly more important things in the country.”

She’s adjusting to having a full-time assistant, “a tremendous help for the student-athletes, because we can give players more individualized instruction. It also helps me with my professional development.” She can compile more challenging schedules, and overall, has more resources.

“But honestly, that’s never been of big importance for me,” she said. “My focus has always been to provide a good experience.

“Over time, I’ve grown to understand, at my core, that I need to be myself, project my optimism, knowledge and belief in the players in order for us to truly succeed.”

Clark may be reached at cclark@lmtribune.com, on Twitter @ClarkTrib or by phone at (208) 848-2260.