Nebraska Athletics values diversity and inclusion and aims to provide the best experience for student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans from all backgrounds. Husker student-athletes hail from 28 countries and 43 states, and hold a number of identities and come from numerous cultural backgrounds that we fully embrace and consider indispensable to our culture in athletics. We strive to maintain relationships with community partners, campus partners and experts in all areas of diversity, inclusion and equity. These relationships ensure that we are providing the best experience, and ensures that we understand best practices when serving a diverse population of staff, coaches, student-athletes and fans.
Vision Statement
Nebraska Athletics will ensure every student, staff member, supporter and fan is treated with the utmost respect and acceptance. We will maintain an environment of inclusion through programming, education, personal support and campus collaboration.
Mission Statement
Nebraska Athletics is committed to inclusive excellence and providing a welcoming and safe culture for all student-athletes and staff. Through ongoing education, programming, and initiatives within athletics combined with campus partnerships, we ensure a strong commitment to celebrate diversity while always striving for inclusion.
Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Timeline
1891
George Flippin becomes first black student-athlete at University of Nebraska, competing in football, wrestling, track and field and baseball. George was a respected physician and surgeon known across the county and state for his willingness to make house calls regardless of the distance or the ability of the family to pay. George Flippin died May 15, 1929 and is the only African –American buried in the Stromsburg Cemetery in Nebraska.
Black athletes would go on to participate in athletics, specifically football, including
- William N. Johnson (1900-1906, football)
- Robert S. Taylor (1906-1909)
- Smith (1908, football)
- Clinton Ross (1911-1913)
1894
Louise Pound, an iconic figure who was born and lived in Lincoln her entire life, earned a Husker varsity letter in men's tennis in 1894 to complement her women's varsity letter in basketball. Louise Pound is considered one of the first Husker women's athletes.
1907
Wilbur Wood is the first Husker African American Basketball Player 1907-1910. Later on, Wood became the coach of the Huskers freshman team.
1917-1947
Black athletes were banned from competing in athletics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In November 1947, the student council at the University of Nebraska adopted a resolution urging university officials to work to have the Big Seven Conference to repeal its racial ban of black athletes and to consider withdrawing from the league “if the action is not taken.” The Daily Nebraskan (UNL student newspaper) strongly supported the student government’s position and published a poll showing that 58 percent of students questioned favored their school’s dropping out of the conference unless the color line was eliminated. At a late November meeting of student representatives from five league schools in Lincoln, participants adopted a resolution urging the Big Seven to replace its exclusion clause with one which guaranteed that “any eligible student of a member institution shall be allowed to participate in all competitive athletic events at any member institution. The rule would be changed shortly.
Charles Bryant, Bob Brown, and the Magnificent 8 era, 1950's-1960's.
1952- Charles Bryant and Jon McWilliams become the first black letterwinners of the modern era, after the 1947 ruling of Big Seven (Big Eight/Big 12 Conference) to eliminate the color line.
1963- Bob Brown, whose No. 64 is retired, was Nebraska’s first black All-America football player, a unanimous selection in 1963.
1964- Willie Paschall, Ted Vactor, Harry Wilson, Preston Love Jr., Tony Jeter, Jim Brown, Langston Coleman and Freeman White. They are the Huskers’ “Magnificent Eight,” were the most black football players at a FBS institution at the time. Most football teams had less than 5 total players, while Nebraska had 8.
NEBRASKA BASKETBALL
1957- Herschell Turner and Wilson Fitzpatrick, Turner’s Husker teammate in 1957-58, were Nebraska’s first black basketball lettermen since Wilbur Wood earned his third letter in 1910. Shortly after, Albert Maxey was recruited to the team in 1958.
1967- City of Lincoln Barrier Breaker Albert Maxey
1968, 1976-1977
Carol Frost becomes the first woman from Nebraska and the first Husker female student-athlete to compete in the Olympics in the 1968 Mexico City Games. In 1976-1977, Carol Frost served as the second head coach of the Husker women's track and field program from 1977 - 1980. She led NU to its first-ever Big Eight championships with a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles during her final season in 1980.
1975
Nebraska’s first sponsored women’s athletic programs: Softball, Women’s Cross Country, Women’s Track and Field, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, and Women’s Gymnastics all became varsity programs in 1975-1976.
1978
Dr. Barbara Hibner came to Nebraska after serving as a successful teacher, coach and athletic administrator at both the high school and collegiate levels. She began her Husker career as Nebraska's Assistant Women's Athletic Director from 1978 to 1985. She served as the Women's Athletic Director from 1985 to 1994 and finished her career as associate athletic director and senior women's administrator from 1994 to her retirement in December of 2005. In her honor, the University of Nebraska recognizes one student-athlete and one community leader each year with the Dr. Barbara Hibner Memorial Scholarship and Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award. The Women's Soccer stadium is also named in her honor.
1979
Dr. Tom Osborne hires Pat Logsdon in 1979 as a recruiting assistant, and she later became the first female Division I director of football operations.
1987
Trischa Zorn competed as a swimmer for the Huskers from 1984-1987. Zorn was a four-time NCAA Academic All-American while attending Nebraska on an academic scholarship, and she was the first visually impaired athlete to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship. Having won 54 medals-including 41 gold, nine silver and four bronze-she is the most decorated athlete for any sport in the history of the Paralympic movement. She has also held multiple world records in her disability class in backstroke, breaststroke, individual medley and relay events.
1990
Kenny Walker became the first deaf football player to sign a national letter-of-intent with Nebraska. Walker was a member of the team from 1986-1990. Walker became profoundly deaf from meningitis at the age of two. He is the second of only three deaf players in the history of the National Football League.
Walker starred at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. At his final home game for the Cornhuskers, the capacity crowd showed their appreciation for Walker by signing "applause" to him in unison. After playing in the Senior Bowl, the Broncos selected him in the eighth round (200th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft.
1993
Sonya Varnell, a former coordinator of multicultural programs for athletics, begins working in Nebraska Athletics to help student-athletes of color transition into the department and Lincoln, ultimately creating one of the first roles in athletics specialized in student-athletes of color retention. Sonya now serves as the senior associate athletic director at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Multicultural program/diversity and inclusion professionals within Nebraska athletics since Sonya Varnell include:
- Sandra Kinoshita (1998-2000)
- Jamar Banks (2001-2004)
- Raegan Hill (2004-2006)
- Dr. Will Sheppard (2006-2011)
- Dr. Jamie Williams (2012-2016)
- Dr. Lawrence Chatters (2014-2018)
- DaWon Baker (2018-Present)
1996
Billie Winsett-Fletcher, a member of the 1995 NCAA national-championship volleyball team from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has been selected as the NCAA Woman of the Year. Winsett-Fletcher received the award at the sixth annual NCAA Woman of the Year awards dinner October 6 in Kansas City, Missouri. The award honors academic and athletics excellence as well as community service and leadership. She was the first Nebraska student-athlete to win the Woman of the Year award.
2000
Nebraska Athletics would start the program Your Degree First. Your Degree First is a program designed to assist, motivate and promote minority student-athletes in pursuing the degree of their choice. It is constructed to offer a support system among minority student-athletes regarding educational progress, degree program awareness, skill development and future employment opportunities.
2001
Pablo Morales becomes the head coach for Swimming and Diving in 2001, the first head coach of color for Nebraska Athletics. Morales also served as the U.S. Swimming Diversity Select Camp Head Coach, a four-day camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2007. Coach Morales serves as the head coach to this day.
2003
Eric Lueshen, a former Husker football player, is believed to be one of the first openly gay football players in Division 1 football. A native of Pierce, Nebraska, Lueshen is a co-founder of LGBT Sportsafe, an organization that strives to make every college, university and professional sports team in the United States, so coaches and athletes alike can compete in welcoming, respectful and inclusive athletic communities.
2005
Nebraska Athletics starts Ladies First, an identity based group to enhance the female student-athlete experience at Nebraska. Female student-athletes would meet and converse, and share tips
2016
Inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Summit Launches
Nebraska Athletics starts the inaugural Diversity and Inclusion Summit. Nebraska Athletics has planned and executed the Diversity and Inclusion Summit since 2016, devoting time and resources to maintaining Diversity and Inclusion as a consistent conversation in athletics. The goal is to expand the definition of diversity, spread awareness and educate student-athletes and staff on the concept of celebrating diversity and practicing inclusion. The Summit has received praise from NCAA administrators, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Administration, national experts on diversity and inclusion, coaches, staff and student-athletes.
Athletics joins LGBT SportSafe
Nebraska Athletics becomes an inaugural member of the LGBT SportSafe program by former Husker Dr. Eric Lueshen. The LGBT SportSafe Inclusion Program was developed to create an infrastructure for athletic administration to support LGBTQ inclusion in college, high school and professional sports. LGBT SportSafe utilizes a new framework, the 3‐Peat Model, to help coaches and athletic administrators champion a culture of respect and inclusion. The 3‐Peat Model addresses the importance of Programming, Policy and Public Awareness at all levels of sport, while offering incentives to institutions that reach inclusion goals.
Nebraska Athletics hosts International Student-Athlete Welcome programming
On Thursday, August 25th, 2016, Life Skills hosted an International Student-Athlete Welcome for incoming international student-athletes, as a part of diversity and inclusion initiatives within Nebraska Athletics.
The first six weeks of college are critical for freshmen. During this period of time, students are expected to make difficult academic and social transitions. Consider the challenge of this transition as a Division I student-athlete with a limited mastery of the English language. Staff members and current athletes met with incoming international students to provide resources and words of advice for international student-athletes.
2017
Noor Ahmed attends Nebraska, and is believed to be the only golfer at the college level or higher who competes in a hijab, the headscarf worn in adherence to the Muslim faith.
2018
Nebraska athletics hires DaWon Baker, 1st diversity and inclusion director in department history, among the first athletic departments to hire a full-time role within diversity and inclusion in athletics.
2019
2019- Nebraska is the first school in the Big Ten to offer a Spanish-language radio broadcast for a football game when the Cornhuskers play Northwestern on Saturday, and the hope is such broadcasts become a regular part of the team’s media offering in coming seasons. Oscar Monterroso and Enrique Morales called the Nebraska game. Monterroso, the color commentator, and Morales, the play-by-play man, have been calling Kansas City NFL games in Spanish since 2011 and have an estimated audience of 13,000 on radio and digital platforms.
Nebraska Athletics co-hosted the Global Huskers Festival. This multicultural festival, sponsored by ISSO in partnership with Athletics, Student Involvement, and Housing, provides attendees the chance to explore the world through informational booths that will have food, cultural décor, art, and more, each hosted by UNL students from those cultures!
Angela Mercurio, a three-time Nebraska track and field All-American, has been named the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year. Mercurio is the second University of Nebraska–Lincoln student-athlete to receive the honor. She joins former Husker volleyball national champion Billie Winsett-Fletcher, who earned the honor in 1996. The award recognizes the nation’s top senior female student-athlete who has excelled in areas of academics, athletics, service and leadership.
2020
Nebraska Athletics Diversity and Inclusion program is honored by the NCAA with the Minority Opportunities Athletics Association Award for Diversity and Inclusion at the annual convention.
Current Nebraska athletics diversity and inclusion initiatives
Annual Diversity and Inclusion Summit
Nebraska Athletics has planned and executed the Diversity and Inclusion Summit since 2016, devoting time and resources to maintaining Diversity and Inclusion as a consistent conversation in athletics. The goal is to expand the definition of diversity, spread awareness and educate student-athletes and staff on the concept of celebrating diversity and practicing inclusion. The Summit has received praise from NCAA administrators, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Administration, national experts on diversity and inclusion, coaches, staff and student-athletes.
Cultural Celebrations and Spotlights
Nebraska Life Skills frequently partners with campus and community partners to host, sponsor and co-manage programming for a number of cultural celebrations. Some programs include:
- Black History Month Programming
- Women's History Month Programming
- Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Spotlight
- Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Spotlight
Faces of Nclusion
Athletics spotlights a number of coaches, staff and student-athletes from diverse backgrounds through social media. The aim is to bring awareness to the diversity that exists in athletics and on our campus, while allowing members of the specific culture to celebrate and educate others about their upbringing.
International Student-Athlete Support
Nebraska Athletics proudly boasts student-athletes from 43 states and 28 countries. With such a large number of athletes spanning the globe, athletics emphasizes the culture that grows and cultivates as a result of a global athletic family. The transition to Nebraska can be a difficult one, so athletics plans international student-athlete orientation, as well as international programming that connects athletes with the international population on campus. In addition, athletics looks to influence and involve international countries in athletic events and programs, showing our connections with our global Huskers.
Staff and coaches programming
Nebraska Athletics creates and manages programming for coaches and staff to celebrate diversity and practice inclusion. The opportunities for staff and coaches include:
Staff Lunch N Learns
The Diversity and Inclusion Lunch N Learn series allows staff members and coaches the opportunity to learn more about diversity and inclusion in a more intimate, detail-oriented setting. Formatted differently than the annual summit, the lunch and learns are more interactive and allow for participants to learn more about specific diversity and inclusion topics and initiatives. The Lunch N Learn series happens monthly in the summer, and once per semester during the school year, touching on a variety of topics. Presenters include community organizations, community speakers and campus partners.
Husker Inclusion Council
The Husker Inclusion Council meets monthly to develop and evaluate the strategic plan for diversity and inclusion in Nebraska Athletics. Comprised of multiple staff members from across the department, the HIC aligns staff and coaches with the Diversity and Inclusion Director, and allows each department within athletics to have a direct line of communication with the inclusion efforts of the department.
Campus Supporter List
Athletic staff members have the option to join UNL's Campus Supporter List. An Ally is an individual who is pro-LGBTQA+ and actively committed to diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and safety for all people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expression. Staff members who participate in a LGBTQA+ 101, or other training's, will receive an ally and/or safe space sticker, demonstrating their visible support for diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Student-Athlete Leadership Groups
With four leadership groups, athletics provides opportunities for student-athletes for leadership development. Within these leadership groups, there are a number of chances to celebrate diversity and practice inclusion. Those groups include:
Purpose: A discussion-based social climate leadership group, N-volved provides student-athletes with a safe space to discuss and explore current events and engage in difficult conversations. The group focuses on developing meaningful relationships that enhance understanding, connectedness, and personal growth. Through campus and community collaboration, student-athletes are educated on topics such as diversity and inclusion, healthy relationships, politics, human rights, and much more.
Mission & Values: As N-volved ambassadors, we focus on using our platform as student-athletes to be a voice and an ear to peers, both on and off campus. We believe it is our responsibility as leaders to respect all those around us. We aim to give a voice to the voiceless, inform the uninformed, to “spark more than conversation.”
Purpose: The goal of N-Vest is to aid in the transition, retention, graduation and preparation of underrepresented student-athletes. In addition, N-Vest equips student-athletes with visible role models who are a reflection of their diverse upbringing. Members receive a community mentor to help with their development. Alternative goals include creating a community in which student-athletes feel comfortable enough to develop relationships with one another and local community professionals, while learning the importance of mentorship, career and personal development strategies, and the role of being a good mentee.
Purpose: The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is comprised of numerous student-athletes and serves as the collective voice of the student-athlete body. Within SAAC, there are multiple subcommittees, such as the appreciation subcommittee, community service, diversity and inclusion, Huskers Supporting Huskers, mental health, and student-athlete welfare. The SAAC Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee acts as a resource, voice and active partner of the athletics diversity and inclusion programming. Pasts programs the SAAC diversity and inclusion subcommittee has hosted included Diversity Day at the Training Table, movie screenings with the Black Graduate Student Association, and athletes have acted as facilitators at the annual Summit. In addition, added a Social Justice officer in 2020 to the SAAC leadership team to better advocate for equality while celebrating diversity and practicing inclusion.
Frequent Campus Partners
Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center/ Office of Academic Success & Intercultural Services (OASIS)
The mission of OASIS is to enhance student success by promoting academic excellence, diversity awareness, and social engagement. We seek to transform the lives of students through culturally sensitive academic support and retention services. The Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center continues the tradition of past UNL Culture Centers, providing a home away from home for underrepresented students, while welcoming all UNL students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests. At 30,000 square feet the Gaughan Multicultural Center was built as the nation’s largest multicultural center attached to a student union. Multiple spaces are provided for students, such as study and lounge spaces, as well as student organization offices, meeting and conference rooms, a music room, a kitchen and a computer lab. OASIS and the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center provide resources, training and information to the department of athletics pertaining multicultural students and staff.
The Women's Center is located on the third floor of the Nebraska Union, room 340. There you will find a resource library, a meeting room for discussion groups, a welcoming space for conversations or just relaxing, and the working spaces of the Women’s Center staff. The Women's Center provides resources, advocacy and programming for the UNL campus and the intersection of gender and your life. The Women's Center partners with athletics, providing support and programming for student-athletes and staff members, and also oversees the Men@Nebraska program, which frequently works with athletics as well.
Mission Statement: The LGBTQA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-/Pan-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Asexual, Aromantic, Allies plus additional identities relevant to sexual orientation, gender identities & expression) Center works collaboratively to provide education, resources, outreach, and advocacy to develop academic and personal success, community, and leadership opportunities.
Vision Statement: To help build and sustain a socially just campus community that is welcoming and inclusive of all people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and expression.
The LGBTQA+ Center collaborates with the department of athletics by providing LGBTQA+ information and programming, and collaborating on programs that serve the LGBTQA+ population.
International Student and Scholars Office (ISSO)
ISSO provides services to international students, visiting scholars, faculty, and departments across campus. ISSO provides a welcoming and supportive environment throughout to help international students adjust to U.S. culture and with questions related to their student or scholar immigration status. The ISSO staff is dedicated to providing expert advice, services, events, programs, information and support to ensure you are successful during your time here. ISSO collaborates with athletics on international student-athlete events, and connecting other international staff and students with the department of athletics.
Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)
The mission of SSD is to facilitate equal and integrated access to the academic, social, cultural and recreational programs offered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and to foster independent decision making skills necessary to achieve personal and academic success. The University’s policy is that no qualified student with a disability will be excluded from participating in any university program or activity, denied the benefits of any university program or activity, or otherwise subjected to discrimination with regard to any university program or activity. SSD frequently partners with athletics to provide services for athletes and staff members who may need additional accommodations, and also provides knowledge and information on building inclusive environments for those with additional accommodations, physical, visible or non-visible disabilities.
Center for Advocacy, Response & Education (CARE)
CARE (previously known as Victim Advocacy) is a confidential, supportive resource for victims/survivors of relationship and personal violence and other crimes. CARE provides support, education and awareness to the general campus on support for victims of crime. CARE collaborates with athletics to provide support and programming, as well as bystander intervention training with teams and leadership groups.
Office of Diversity and Inclusion
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) was created in 2018 as a culmination of a) the efforts of engaged members of our campus community advocating for diversity and inclusion leadership, b) an institutional study by nationally renowned diversity experts Halualani and Associates, c) a series of workgroups and committees identifying needs, and d) a five-year university-wide effort to address equity, diversity, and inclusion at Nebraska. There was a real interest to invest time and resources to identify the needs of the institution and the scope and role of a central office.
ODI provides vision, leadership, and advocacy in fostering an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming campus central to the land-grant mission of UNL; leads and facilitates the development of institutional policies, protocols, and practices intended to create a more equitable, and inclusive campus culture; and utilizes an inclusive excellence framework to foster an engaged, creative, and innovative learning environment for all. The vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion reports to the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer and the chancellor.
Numerous staff members within athletics serve on committees that are connected to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and also partner with the office on resources, programming and information sharing.
Want to learn more about UNL's Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and commitments?
Visit diversity.unl.edu to learn more about institutional diversity, and visit https://go.unl.edu/8keb to learn more about Nebraska Athletics Diversity and Inclusion initiatives! #GBR