Women's History Month: Nancy Justis
3/4/2021
When I took over as UNI Director of Sports Information in October of 1979, I had no idea I would remain in that job until my retirement in January of 2006. At the time of my promotion from the school's first full-time assistant SID began in 1976, I became just the sixth woman in the country to be the head of athletics communications at the collegiate level, and just the fourth female to be in charge of football, according to CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).
For those of you old enough to remember the ‘70s, think back to those times. For those of you not yet born, try to imagine what I’m about to relate.
Title IX had not been in existence very long. I had entered a man's world. Never to retreat from a challenge, I asked then Athletic Director and football coach Stan Sheriff for the head job when Brad Larson left after just nine months to continue his career at Weber State. After all, I had taken over the top position in the interim over the previous three years every time a person left.
There weren’t any computers. No statistical programs. Updating stats was done by hand after every game. When lucky enough to have a secretary, she would re-type (on a typewriter) the stats and news release each time.
There weren’t any websites. There weren’t cell phones. When the first fax machines came out, it took either four or six minutes to electronically send one page. Relaying post-game results to print, radio and TV outlets was accomplished over the phone, dictating stats and game highlights to a desk person on the other end of the line.
It seemed to take forever, particularly if you were communicating with three major newspapers. Coaches became antsy having to wait for me to do my job post-game while on the road. Of course, if they didn’t get the media coverage, then they were angry. Couldn’t keep everyone happy all the time!
Sometimes the host SID would graciously send stats by fax (at least when the machines became available) to our media outlets, but I still needed to speak with sports contacts to describe the progression of the game and to deliver coach and player quotes.
Over my tenure, the job and profession evolved as any would over that long period of time. Collegiate athletics evolved, conferences and divisions changed, budgets became more and more challenging, technology changed, and facilities improved.
What didn't change was my love of getting to know Panther student-athletes and coaches, and the support I had from my fellow conference SIDs, who treated me with respect and like I was their sister, teaching me the ropes and always giving me positive feedback.
I thought of them as my brothers.
I have to admit that not everyone thought it was a good idea to promote a woman into the job. Again, it was the ‘70s. Some coaches were “old school”. Even a newspaper sports editor questioned, “Can she do the job?” It took time for many of these people to come around to the idea. Some never did. I took it in stride, having confidence in myself and the support of my male peers and Coach Sheriff.
Because budgets were tight and only got tighter, travel was an on-going challenge. Air travel was in-frequent. Most road trips were by bus. A football trip to Youngstown (Ohio) State was broken up by a brief practice session at Notre Dame, obviously a thrill for the players. But return trips lasted all night. Returning home at 4 a.m. only to be in the office on Sunday by 9 a.m. was tiring. Basketball trips to Valparaiso (Indiana) most often were accompanied by lake-effect blizzards, slowing travel time. One such attempt to hit the road in the middle of winter ended with the bus stuck barely out of town. We eventually were aided by a snowplow and we immediately turned around to head back home.
I can’t remember if the game was rescheduled.
When computers were introduced, we were promised our jobs would become so much easier. I beg to differ.
When sports information became under the umbrella of athletics instead of UNI Public Relations, there were not enough offices constructed yet in the UNI-Dome. A trailer was placed just outside the northwest UNI-Dome doors for Associate Athletics Director Sandra Williamson, a secretary (which we still were lucky enough to have), myself and an assistant or student assistants. The trailer did not have access to toilets or office equipment, other than typewriters, but it did have windows that could be opened for fresh air during nice weather. During the winter we had to run from the trailer to the Dome for necessities.
Unfortunately, we were one of the last locations to be plowed out and our steps were rarely shoveled.
The trailer was air-conditioned but at one point the unit on Sandra’s end began dripping condensation. I remember pails placed under the ceiling unit which impeded traffic flow. Remember, this was a small trailer.
During the winter, campus custodians would blow the snow off the rim of the Dome and as they passed by where the trailer was parked, that snow would fall on top of the flat-roofed trailer. It continued to build up every time the snow was blown and eventually built up to be about a foot thick of solid ice. The weight of the ice began to cause the trailer roof to sag.
The solution? They constructed two-by-four braces inside the trailer. It was not the latest in office decorating. We made the best of it, however, by hanging plants from the braces.
Those of us who lived through that time can look back on it now and laugh about it.
The permanent solution occurred when a Title IX investigation came to campus. Because the trailer housed all women, the investigation determined the facility was discriminatory. Offices were built in the UNI-Dome and are still being used today.
When computers were introduced, we were promised our jobs would become so much easier. I beg to differ. The flow of information was easier, but the amount of information and the timeliness of its distribution became more stressful.
First of all, we received no training once the computer was placed on our desks. We learned by trial and error. Then we needed to learn how to navigate the statistical programs as they were developed.
Websites were developed and we learned those on the job. Eventually, my staff was charged with producing our printed materials in-house rather than outsourcing the production to Public Relations. The SIDs of my generation were trained as journalists, not as graphic designers. I found the transition to be stressful. Of course, my students knew more about the technology than I did because they were raised on it.
The hardest thing about the advent of more technology was the impatience of people to receive the information. Stats, stories and results were expected to be instantaneous, despite the fact that other parts of the job needed to be done along the way.
I mentioned I loved getting to know the student-athletes. I remain in contact with many of them to this day through – what else – technology and social media. I love seeing them at home in the Dome or in the McLeod Center when they come back to campus to visit or on the road when I travel to games as a fan.
I also have stayed in touch with many of my former student assistants, who I could not have functioned without. I am proud of the impact I may have had on their growth professionally. I love seeing how they have grown personally, many with their own families now.
After all, 30-some years is a long time.
