University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI Celebrates 50 Years of Women's Athletics
8/10/2018 3:13:00 PM | General, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Cross Country, Track and Field
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI Athletics will be hosting a series of alumni reunions and unveiling an anniversary team of notable Panthers in honor of the school's 50th anniversary of women's athletics in the 2018-19 academic year.
An educational event will take
place for current student-athletes and Women at Play will be another opportunity to honor our women's athletics pioneers.
"This year is mainly about celebration and appreciation for all the women that have made UNI women's athletics what it is today all the way from our pioneers to those with active roles now," said Christina Roybal, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Administration at UNI. "There has been significant changes over 50 years, and we need to celebrate all the things we have overcome and made better. With the education piece, it will be great for our student-athletes to know how they came to have these opportunities and be able to appreciate where they are now, because they stand on the shoulders of the pioneers."
Current teams will be looking to reconnect with former Panthers throughout the 2018-19 academic year to celebrate the accomplishments and recognize the paths those pioneers paved for today's student-athletes and administrators.
The events will kick off this fall with features highlighting women who can tell the story of women's athletics at UNI. Student-athletes will have the opportunity to learn UNI's history with educational programming that includes a panel of former student-athletes from multiple generations.
"I have learned a lot about our student-athletes who were participants on multiple teams," Roybal said. "There have been some interesting stories, typically around travel. It's really neat to see the accomplishments of some of the student-athletes going on to compete with national teams and competing against other elite programs at an early stage of UNI Athletics' development."
The reunions will begin this fall and continue to be added to the online alumni calendar as they are set.
"It's been really fun to work with the pioneers to hear their excitement for this yearlong celebration," Roybal said. "Hopefully, it's going to help us reconnect with Panthers from many years ago while giving our young student-athletes a chance to learn from them."
The anniversary team will include former student-athletes, staff and administration along with the first three female teams that competed at UNI. The first field hockey team started with 14 players in 1968, and women's basketball competed in the 1968-69 schoolyear. The first female tennis team at UNI started competition in 1971.
"When selecting an anniversary team, we wanted to choose 50 women who would be representative of the last 50 years in athletics," Roybal said. "However, it was going to be too difficult of a task to narrow down that list. Instead, we didn't limit the number of members but focused on women who were among the first student-athletes to All-Americans to Hall of Famers to staff and administrators who made a strong impact on UNI Athletics."
UNI alumni wanting to be a part of the reunions, join a panel or share a memory are urged to contact Roybal at (319) 273-2556 or email Christina.Roybal@uni.edu.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI Athletics will be hosting a series of alumni reunions and unveiling an anniversary team of notable Panthers in honor of the school's 50th anniversary of women's athletics in the 2018-19 academic year.
An educational event will take
| UNI pioneers share stories with Panthers |
| Alumni calendar |
"This year is mainly about celebration and appreciation for all the women that have made UNI women's athletics what it is today all the way from our pioneers to those with active roles now," said Christina Roybal, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sports Administration at UNI. "There has been significant changes over 50 years, and we need to celebrate all the things we have overcome and made better. With the education piece, it will be great for our student-athletes to know how they came to have these opportunities and be able to appreciate where they are now, because they stand on the shoulders of the pioneers."
Current teams will be looking to reconnect with former Panthers throughout the 2018-19 academic year to celebrate the accomplishments and recognize the paths those pioneers paved for today's student-athletes and administrators.
The events will kick off this fall with features highlighting women who can tell the story of women's athletics at UNI. Student-athletes will have the opportunity to learn UNI's history with educational programming that includes a panel of former student-athletes from multiple generations.
"I have learned a lot about our student-athletes who were participants on multiple teams," Roybal said. "There have been some interesting stories, typically around travel. It's really neat to see the accomplishments of some of the student-athletes going on to compete with national teams and competing against other elite programs at an early stage of UNI Athletics' development."
The reunions will begin this fall and continue to be added to the online alumni calendar as they are set.
- Women's track and field: golf outing Aug. 24
- Swimming and diving: Sept. 28 golf outing
- Swimming and diving: Sept. 29 block dedication
- Soccer: recognition at Missouri State game with post-game tailgate Sept. 29
- Soccer: Alumni game Sept. 30
- Volleyball: Recognition and social at Drake game Oct. 19
- Volleyball: Recognition at Marquette game Oct. 21
- Women's basketball: Drake game Jan. 20
- Softball: Dome Tournament Feb. 8-10
- Women's track and field: MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 23
- Tennis: MVC Team Championship April 26-28
"It's been really fun to work with the pioneers to hear their excitement for this yearlong celebration," Roybal said. "Hopefully, it's going to help us reconnect with Panthers from many years ago while giving our young student-athletes a chance to learn from them."
The anniversary team will include former student-athletes, staff and administration along with the first three female teams that competed at UNI. The first field hockey team started with 14 players in 1968, and women's basketball competed in the 1968-69 schoolyear. The first female tennis team at UNI started competition in 1971.
"When selecting an anniversary team, we wanted to choose 50 women who would be representative of the last 50 years in athletics," Roybal said. "However, it was going to be too difficult of a task to narrow down that list. Instead, we didn't limit the number of members but focused on women who were among the first student-athletes to All-Americans to Hall of Famers to staff and administrators who made a strong impact on UNI Athletics."
UNI alumni wanting to be a part of the reunions, join a panel or share a memory are urged to contact Roybal at (319) 273-2556 or email Christina.Roybal@uni.edu.
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