September

Sept. 1, 1955

University officially enters ranks of Social Security

Sept. 1, 1963

Don Benning hired as OU wrestling coach, becoming one of the first blacks in the nation to hold such a position at a basically white university. He also was the first black assistant professor at the school

Sept. 1, 1977

Del Weber starts tenure as UNO Chancellor

Sept. 1, 1981

W.H. Thompson Alumni House (now William H. and Dorothy Thompson Alumni Center) dedicated

Sept. 1, 1982

Poet Maya Angelou speaks to 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

Sept. 2, 1986

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

Sept. 3, 1972

Maverick Booster Club organizes the Maverick Midget Bowl football game at Caniglia Field between Little Dinkers of Omaha and the Rolling Hills Broncos of California
Sept. 4, 1908 What becomes the University of Omaha Board of Trustees meets for the first time to take steps toward incorporation of University of Omaha on Oct. 8.
Sept. 4, 1993 New bull mascot debuts at UNO football game against Wayne State. Alumni Association and Athletic department split cost of new mascot. Mascot later named "Durango" through student vote during homecoming.
Sept. 4, 2003 Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman speaks on homeland security in a presentation that was part of a speaker series sponsored by the UNO Honors Program and Golden Key Honor Society.

Sept. 5, 1973

Helicopter hovers over campus to place steel beams on top of Fieldhouse

Sept. 5, 1978

Noted con man Frank Abnagnale (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in “Catch Me If You Can”) speaks at Peony Park Ballroom for seminar hosted by UNO Nebraska Business Development Center
Sept. 6, 1994 Dave Hinton, dean of College of Public Affairs and Community Service, receives first Staff Advisory Council award.
Sept. 6, 1995 Former astronaut James Lovell of "Apollo 13" fame speaks at the ABC (Academy, Business and Community) breakfast series sponsored by UNO's College of Continuing Studies.

Sept. 7, 1970

UNO student Debbie Sullivan begins six days in Miss America contest

Sept. 7, 1965

"Peanuts" illustrator Charles Schultz approves ROTC's use of Snoopy as official mascot of Earl S. Hoag Squadron, Arnold Air Society, Detachment 470. See a letter from Schultz and two Gateway articles.

Sept. 7, 1991

Maverick football team dons black jerseys in home opener against Wayne State

Sept. 7, 2002

Award-winning Avila String Quartet of Venezuela performs through Ecoutez! Series

Sept. 8, 1988

Olga Lusnikov, a Russian immigrant and wife of UNO assistant physics professor Aleksey Lusnikov, speaks to the Faculty Women’s Club on life in the Soviet Union
Sept. 9, 1982 Bruce Benedict, Atlanta Braves catcher and former OU baseball player, hits a grand slam against Fernando Valenzuela, helping Atlanta to 10-3 win.
Sept. 9, 1998 Oft-presidential candidate Ralph Nader speaks at the Academic, Business and Community Breakfast Series sponsored by UNO's College of Continuing Studies.
Sept. 9, 2009 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 was to collect non-perishable foods for Omaha's Food Bank.
Sept. 10, 1988 UNO student Jodi Miller begins competition in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant after being named Miss Nebraska 1988 in August.

Sept. 10, 2003

Scott Village residence halls dedicated
Sept. 11, 2002 Stuart Varney, former host of CNN's "MoneyLine News," speaks at ABC Breakfast series, 2002
Sept. 11, 2009 UNO hosts a free concert outside the Student Center to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001, with musicians from the UNO Concert and Jazz Bands performing.

Sept. 12, 1971

Kayser Hall dedicated

Sept. 12, 1976

University Library officially opened

Sept. 12, 2006

UNO Chancellor Nancy Belck resigns

Sept. 13, 1972

Dizzy Gillespie performs at Student Center

Sept. 14, 1909

Twenty-six students, 19 of them grads of Omaha High School, gather for the first day of classes, held in Redick Hall at 24th and Pratt Streets. Purchase of the former mansion was made possible through generous underwriting by Omaha attorney Oak C. Redick

Sept. 14, 1974

First night game played at Al Caniglia Field, vs. Morningside

Sept. 14, 1982

Cox Cable of Omaha broadcasts first of 23 UNO athletics events, the UNO-Kearney State football game
Sept. 15, 1997 NETV debuts "The Lost City of Bethsaida," a UNO Television-produced documentary on the Bethsaida excavation site in Israel.

Sept. 16, 1976

Comedian Steve Martin performs in Student Center via Student Programming Organization
Sept. 17, 1986 Former Vietnam POW U.S. Air Force Maj. Robert Hudson speaks in Milo Bail Student Center in appearance sponsored by Pen and Sword Society in observance of National Recognition Day for soldiers.
Sept. 17, 2005 UNO radio station MavRadio hosts the fundraiser Mavstock, a six-band concert in the Milo Bail Student Center to benefit the American Red Cross, especially victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Sept. 18, 1952 Gateway reporters Frank Schuchart and Roger Orr cover visiting General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s visit to Ak-Sar-Ben during his campaign for president. Schuchart's camera malfunctions and he has to ask Ike three times to pose with Orr for a photo. See Gateway article at http://bit.ly/ikeandou

Sept. 18, 2003

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."

Sept. 19, 1938

First meeting of marriage course, taught by Sociology Department Chair Dr. T. Earl Sullenger. Cost was $2.
Sept. 19, 1981 Al F. Caniglia Field attendance record of 12,500 set during football game against Morningside.

Sept. 20, 1945

Sterling Morton, grandson of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton, makes $10,000 gift to Omaha as memorial to his other grandfather, Judge George B. Lake, a Nebraska pioneer, lawyer and state chief justice.
Sept. 20, 1960 The Century Club, a national club that recognizes coaches with 100 or more victories in a single sport, honors UNO Athletic Director Virgil Yelkin, who was 133-46-3 as OU's baseball coach for 13 seasons.
Sept. 21, 1927 Convocation to recognized assumption of Dr. Karl Wettstone to university presidency.
Sept. 21, 1971 The New Shakespearean Theatre, a repertory company from San Francisco, performs in front of the Administration Building.

Sept. 21, 1977

Former President Gerald Ford visits campus

Sept. 21, 1987

Durham Science Center dedicated

Sept. 22, 1939

Address by Idaho Senator James P. Pope, member of the Tennessee Valley Authority, closes the fall conference of the First Annual Institute of Government, sponsored by OU, Omaha Junior Chamber of CommerCe and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Sept. 22, 2000 Someone driving a stolen Jeep crashes into UNO's power plant, rupturing a gas main and requiring gas to be shut off to the entire campus for several hours.

Sept. 23, 1960

Robert Kennedy campaigns for his brother, John F. Kennedy, during the presidential campaign
Sept. 23, 1955

Parking meters – 300 of them – debut on OU campus
Sept. 23, 1982 Dance Theatre of Harlem performs at UNO Night at the Orpheum, a program presented by Student Programming Organization

Sept. 24, 1938

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

Sept. 24, 1944

OU faculty defeat Drake faculty in Nebraska-Iowa radio quiz

Sept. 24, 1949

WOW-TV show “Coffee Counter” begins series focusing on Omaha University with OU coed as guest hostess

Sept. 24, 1999

University Village residences dedicated
Sept. 24, 2004 24 participants set a Guinness World Record for the longest wheelchair basketball game, playing 26 hours and three minutes in the Sapp Fieldhouse

Sept. 25, 2001

Scott Business and Technology Development Center opened

Sept. 26, 1913

Freshman class hosts "wienie roast" on the Missouri River banks north of Fkorence.

Sept. 26, 1933

Omaha Mayor Roy Towl suggests new home for Municipal University of Omaha, an 80-acre tract between 30th and 36th and Maple to Bedford streets

Sept. 26, 1947

Controversy over OU game with Missouri State Teachers College after Omaha World-Herald on Sept. 22 runs article reporting that black OU players would be unable to participate in the game because of state law

Sept. 26, 1982

The Association sings in the Student Center Ballroom for homecoming-related Maverick Days.

Sept. 27, 1938 

Students brandish tree branches to help put out fire at bus stop on campus.

Sept. 27, 1946

Snack shack opens (later named Pow-Wow Inn because of copyright concerns)

Sept. 27, 1948

OU begins 15-minute weekly program on KOIL, starting with “Get Acquainted with the Bails,” to deal with university life

Sept. 28, 1951

Omaha University's U.S. Air Force ROTC establishes "Junior Jets" consisting of area seventh and eight graders.

Sept. 29, 1968

Marlin Briscoe plays his first game for the Denver Broncos, entering play against the Boston Patriots after an injury to starter Jim LeClair. Briscoe finished 2 of 6 passing for 43 yards and ran five times for 51 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown, but Denver lost 20-17. Briscoe would start the next week agaisnt Cincinnati, becoming pro football’s first black starting quarterback.

See more in a UNO Magazine article on Briscoe.

See video of Briscoe's historic moment, ranked third in the "Top 5 Broncos Moments" by the NFL Network

 

Sept. 29, 1973

John Denver performs for UNO’s Student Programming Organization, at Civic Auditorium.

Sept. 30, 1975 

Bruce Springsteen performs for UNO’s Student Programming Organization, at Civic Auditorium

Sept. 30, 1981

Nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman speaks on flying saucers, addressing students in Milo Bail Student Center in appearance sponsored by Student Programming Organization.