The Maverick football team dons black jerseys for the home opener against Wayne State.
University officially enters the ranks of Social Security.
Don Benning is hired as OU wrestling coach, becoming one of the first Blacks in the nation to hold such a position at a predominantly white university. He also is the first Black assistant professor at the school.
Del Weber starts his tenure as UNO chancellor.
W.H. Thompson Alumni House (now the William H. and Dorothy Thompson Alumni Center) is dedicated.
Poet Maya Angelou speaks to an audience of about 500 women in the Student Center at Equality Day ’82, sponsored by the UNO Women’s Resource Center and the Nebraska Coalition for Women.
UNO volleyball team defeats 10-time defending Big Eight champion and No. 4-rated Nebraska, 15-13, 8-15, 8-15, 16-14, 15-13.
Maverick Booster Club organizes the Maverick Midget Bowl football game at Caniglia Field between the Little Dinkers of Omaha and the Rolling Hills Broncos of California.
What becomes the University of Omaha Board of Trustees meets for the first time to take steps toward incorporation of the University of Omaha on Oct. 8.
A new bull mascot debuts at a UNO football game against Wayne State. The Alumni Association and Athletic Department split the cost of the new mascot. The mascot is later named “Durango” through a student vote during homecoming.
Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman speaks on homeland security in a presentation that is part of a speaker series sponsored by the UNO Honors Program and Golden Key Honor Society.
A helicopter hovers over campus to place steel beams on top of the Fieldhouse.
Noted con man Frank Abagnale, later portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can,” speaks at the Peony Park Ballroom for a seminar hosted by the UNO Nebraska Business Development Center.
UNO hosted a ribbon cutting to mark the opening of the Biomechanics Research Building. The new facility was one of the first stand-alone buildings in the world dedicated to biomechanics research.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Office of Student Affairs celebrated its military, veterans and their families with a new mural in the Milo Bail Student Center! Inspired by the value of building community, the red, white and blue mural is composed of personal snapshots of current students, alumni and community members.
An investiture ceremony was held for Dr. Jeffrey Gold in the Strauss Performing Arts Center. He had served as interim chancellor beginning in May 2017 through December 2018. He served as chancellor until June 2021.
Dave Hinton, dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, receives the first Staff Advisory Council award.
Former astronaut James Lovell, known for his role in the Apollo 13 mission, speaks at the ABC (Academy, Business and Community) breakfast series sponsored by UNO’s College of Continuing Studies.
“Peanuts” illustrator Charles Schulz approves ROTC’s use of Snoopy as the official mascot of the Earl S. Hoag Squadron, Arnold Air Society, Detachment 470. A letter from Schulz and two Gateway articles document the approval.
UNO student Debbie Sullivan begins six days of competition in the Miss America pageant.
The Maverick football team dons black jerseys for the home opener against Wayne State.
The award‑winning Avila String Quartet of Venezuela performs as part of the Ecoutez! Series.
Olga Lusnikov, a Russian immigrant and wife of UNO assistant physics professor Aleksey Lusnikov, speaks to the Faculty Women’s Club about life in the Soviet Union.
Bruce Benedict, Atlanta Braves catcher and former OU baseball player, hits a grand slam off Fernando Valenzuela, helping Atlanta to a 10–3 win.
Oft‑presidential candidate Ralph Nader speaks at the Academic, Business, and Community Breakfast Series sponsored by UNO’s College of Continuing Studies.
Maverick PR, the UNO chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, hosts “Hula Hoop and a Can of Soup” in Elmwood Park. The event collects nonperishable foods for Omaha’s Food Bank.
UNO student Jodi Miller begins competition in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant after being named Miss Nebraska 1988 in August.
Scott Village residence halls are dedicated.
Stuart Varney, former host of CNN’s “Moneyline News,” speaks at the ABC Breakfast Series.
UNO hosts a free concert outside the Student Center to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001, featuring performances by musicians from the UNO Concert and Jazz Bands.
Kayser Hall is dedicated.
The University Library is officially opened.
UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck resigns.
Dizzy Gillespie performs at the Student Center.
Twenty‑six students, nineteen of them graduates of Omaha High School, gather for the first day of classes in Redick Hall at 24th and Pratt Streets. The purchase of the former mansion is made possible through generous underwriting by Omaha attorney Oak C. Redick.
The first night game is played at Al Caniglia Field, against Morningside.
Cox Cable of Omaha broadcasts the first of 23 UNO athletics events, the UNO–Kearney State football game.
NETV debuts “The Lost City of Bethsaida,” a UNO Television–produced documentary on the Bethsaida excavation site in Israel.
Comedian Steve Martin performs in the Student Center, presented by the Student Programming Organization.
Former Vietnam POW U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert Hudson speaks in the Milo Bail Student Center in an appearance sponsored by the Pen and Sword Society in observance of National Recognition Day for soldiers.
UNO radio station MavRadio hosts the fundraiser Mavstock, a six‑band concert in the Milo Bail Student Center to benefit the American Red Cross, with a focus on supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Gateway reporters Frank Schuchart and Roger Orr cover General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s visit to Ak‑Sar‑Ben during his presidential campaign. When Schuchart’s camera malfunctions, he has to ask Eisenhower three times to pose with Orr for a photo.
Ivor Agyeman‑Duah, minister of public diplomacy with the Embassy of Ghana in Washington, D.C., speaks in the Alumni Center on “Ghana in West Africa: Prospects for a Post‑Colonial State.”
The first meeting of a marriage course, taught by Sociology Department Chair Dr. T. Earl Sullenger, is held. The cost is $2.
The Al F. Caniglia Field attendance record of 12,500 is set during a football game against Morningside.
Sterling Morton, grandson of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton, makes a $10,000 gift to Omaha as a memorial to his other grandfather, Judge George B. Lake, a Nebraska pioneer, lawyer, and chief justice of the state.
The Century Club, a national organization that recognizes coaches with 100 or more victories in a single sport, honors UNO Athletic Director Virgil Yelkin, who is 133–46–3 as OU’s baseball coach over 13 seasons.
A convocation is held to recognize the assumption of Dr. Karl Wettstone to the university presidency.
The New Shakespearean Theatre, a repertory company from San Francisco, performs in front of the Administration Building.
Former President Gerald Ford visits campus.
Durham Science Center is dedicated.
An address by Idaho Sen. James P. Pope, a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority, closes the fall conference of the First Annual Institute of Government, sponsored by OU, the Omaha Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Someone driving a stolen Jeep crashes into UNO’s power plant, rupturing a gas main and forcing gas to be shut off to the entire campus for several hours.
Statues in honor of university presidents Daniel Jenkins and Milo Bail are dedicated. The commemorations of Daniel E. Jenkins, the founding president of Omaha University, and Phillip Milo Bail, who served as president from 1948-1965, now stand prominently on the Dodge Campus' Milo Bail Plaza.
Parking meters—300 of them—debut on the OU campus.
Robert Kennedy campaigns for his brother, John F. Kennedy, during the presidential campaign.
Dance Theatre of Harlem performs at UNO Night at the Orpheum, a program presented by the Student Programming Organization.
The OU football team defeats Wayne State Teachers, 18-13, while playing under new floodlights at Benson Field, at an estimated electric cost of $25 per game.
OU faculty defeat Drake faculty in a Nebraska-Iowa radio quiz.
The WOW-TV show “Coffee Counter” begins a series focusing on Omaha University, with an OU coed as guest hostess.
University Village student housing opens marking a significant addition to campus life and the evolution beyond a commuter campus.
Twenty-four participants set a Guinness World Record for the longest wheelchair basketball game, playing 26 hours and three minutes in the Sapp Fieldhouse.
The Scott Business and Technology Development Center opens.
UNO’s sustainability effort was recognized in the Sierra Club Magazine’s 2017 “Cool Schools” list! The magazine ranks higher education institutions in the United States regarding their sustainability practices. This was the second year UNO has made it to the magazine’s list with a ranking of 188.
The freshman class hosts a “weenie roast” on the Missouri River banks north of Florence.
Omaha Mayor Roy Towl suggests a new home for the Municipal University of Omaha, an 80-acre tract between 30th and 36th Streets and Maple to Bedford.
A controversy arises over an OU game with Missouri State Teachers College after the Omaha World-Herald runs an article on Sept. 22 reporting that Black OU players would be unable to participate in the game because of state law.
The Association performs in the Student Center Ballroom for homecoming‑related Maverick Days.
Chancellor John Christensen announces his retirement effective May 8, 2017, after leading UNO since September 2006. Christensen was the leader of the university to have a degree from UNO, a Master of Science in Special Education/Speech Pathology.
Students brandish tree branches to help extinguish a fire at a bus stop on campus.
A snack shack opens (later named the Pow‑Wow Inn because of copyright concerns).
OU begins a 15‑minute weekly program on KOIL, starting with “Get Acquainted with the Bails,” to address university life.
Omaha University’s U.S. Air Force ROTC establishes “Junior Jets,” a program consisting of area seventh‑ and eighth‑graders.
Marlin Briscoe plays his first game for the Denver Broncos, entering against the Boston Patriots after an injury to starter Jim LeClair. He finishes 2 of 6 passing for 43 yards and runs five times for 51 yards, including a 12‑yard touchdown, but Denver loses 20–17. Briscoe starts the next week against Cincinnati, becoming pro football’s first Black starting quarterback.
John Denver performs for UNO’s Student Programming Organization at the Civic Auditorium.
Bruce Springsteen performs for UNO’s Student Programming Organization at the Civic Auditorium.