Title IX & Connie Claussen's UNO legacy

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
— Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972

When you think of sports legends in Nebraska, few rival Connie Claussen. She is the only person to have received the UNO Alumni Association’s Outstanding Service Award (1976) and Citation for Alumni Achievement (1997) and be inducted into the UNO Athletic Hall of Fame (1983). In 2021, UNO recognized Claussen’s contributions by naming its new softball complex in her honor.

In 1968, there were no sanctioned sports for women at UNO when Omaha was selected to host the first women’s softball World Series. Connie Claussen taught physical education at the university, and she thought if the women’s world series was coming to town, UNO should have a team. She quickly recruited players, borrowed uniforms and held a few practices before entering the tournament.

“We ended up losing our first two games, but honestly, this was never about winning and losing. It was about the beginning of women’s athletics at UNO. And by 1971, we had an actual softball team,” said Claussen.

The move opened the door to opportunities for female athletes in Nebraska. Despite much enthusiasm, they lacked financial and administrative support. In 1972, the passage of Title IX requiring equity in academic and athletic programs furthered Claussen’s efforts.

Progress didn’t happen overnight, but Claussen, and many volunteers were persistent.

“We added basketball, volleyball and then track and field,” said Claussen. “Change we’d only dreamt about was slowly unfolding before our eyes.”

After half a century, the impact of this landmark civil rights law on women’s sports is evident. Today, women make up 44% of all NCAA athletes compared to 15% pre-Title IX, when fewer than 30,000 women played college sports, according to the NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Report, 1971–72 and 2020–21.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of this essential legislation, yet the full promise of Title IX remains unfulfilled for many girls and women across the nation.

“My only hope is that we can celebrate the past, while also working to improve the future,” said Claussen. “Let’s make these next 50 years even better than the first.