University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Celebrating Black History Month 2024: Jenny Schultz and Willie Beamon
2/19/2024 9:10:00 AM | Football, Softball
Panther softball, football standouts and future couple broke out in their respective sports in the 1980s and 1990s.
In their household, Panther athletics were a way of life. Whether it was smashing line drives down the left-field line, or throwing a pass catcher down onto the turf, Jenny Schultz and Willie Beamon were breakout stars in their respective sports during their time at UNI before uniting in marriage.
Schultz joined the Panther softball team ahead of the 1987 season and made an immediate impact for UNI on the diamond. The outfielder was a key catalyst in propelling UNI to back-to-
back 30+ wins seasons during her sophomore and junior years, including a 35-win season in 1988, the first since the program's run to the 1982 AIAW national championship.
A four-year player for the purple and gold, Schultz etched her name into the program's record books, leading the Panthers in 1987 with four stolen bases as a freshman, and again in 1989 with seven stolen bases. A solid hitter at the plate, she also set the program's single-season record for sacrifice hits (33) and would finish her career as Northern Iowa's career sacrifice fly leader (81). Despite posting just a 3-13 record in Gateway Conference play in 1990, Schultz, who appeared in a program record 231 games and earned all-conference recognition as a senior, was key in helping push the Panthers to a Gateway Tournament championship and UNI's first-ever NCAA regional tournament.
On the gridiron, Schultz's future husband in Beamon made an immediate impact as a freshman on UNI's famed defense with a school record five pass deflections in his first year of action in a game at Southern Illinois. After a season where he earned a Gateway Conference Defensive Player of the Week nod and eight interceptions, 
Beamon took his game to another level to earn first team all-conference recognition in 1990 to help the Panthers return to the Division I-AA postseason for the first time after a three-year absence.
Beamon, a three-year letterwinner as a defensive back who would earn First Team All-Gateway Conference honors again in 1992, ended his collegiate career with a program record 51 defended passes, 11 interceptions and two career interceptions returned for touchdowns. After going undrafted in 1993, Beamon signed with the New York Giants as a free agent, helping New York make the postseason during his rookie season. He would finish his career after four seasons in the Big Apple with 72 total tackles, one sack and a pair of interceptions.
Beamon's son, Willie Beamon III would also play football for the Panthers, appearing in 13 games from 2014 to 2017.