Dr. Barbara Hibner
Lincoln, Neb.
Sept. 26, 1941 - March 7, 2007
A true champion for women’s athletics, the University of Nebraska Athletic Department lost a loyal friend and trailblazer today. Dr. Barbara Hibner, 65, passed away this morning in her home after fighting a valiant battle with cancer.
Born on Sept. 26, 1941, in Gettysburg, Pa., Dr. Barbara A. Hibner has been a Nebraskan for nearly three decades.
Before her retirement, Hibner had been a valuable member of the Husker Athletic Department for 28 years, leading the way for thousands of young women as they boldly and proudly succeeded as varsity student-athletes.
University of Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson said, “Today, I have lost a dear friend. When she arrived in 1978, few could have imagined the impact she would have on Nebraska athletics. She gave Nebraska her talents and her heart. We will always be indebted.”
Dr. Hibner hired many of Nebraska’s women’s coaches, including Rhonda Revelle as head softball coach in 1993. Revelle said of her mentor and friend, “There is absolutely no beginning or end to the love, admiration and respect that I have for Barbara. ‘Dr. H’ has been my role model, my compass, my mentor and most of all...my friend. She has been my greatest supporter, enthusiastic teacher, wisest counsel, and loyal confidant.
“She gave me and Nebraska Women’s Athletics every piece of knowledge and every ounce of energy she had. Most of all, Dr. Hibner has taught us all to lead by word and by example. She will be greatly missed, but her presence will forever be evident in each of our women’s athletic programs here at Nebraska.”
Dr. Hibner came to Nebraska after serving as a successful teacher, coach and athletic administrator at both the high school and collegiate levels. She began her Husker career as Nebraska’s Assistant Women’s Athletic Director from 1978 to 1985. She served as the Women’s Athletic Director from 1985 to 1994 and finished her career as associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator from 1994 to her retirement in December of 2005.
Hibner was responsible for NCAA compliance for the entire athletic program, and also coordinated and directed special events, including conference and women’s NCAA in women’s basketball, gymnastics, softball, volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving and tennis. Most recently, she served as the tournament director for the first and second rounds of the 2004 NCAA Volleyball Tournament at the NU Coliseum and the 2005 NCAA Softball Regional at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln. She proudly worked behind the scenes as Nebraska women’s teams won nine national championships.
A graduate of Gettysburg High School, Dr. Hibner’s start as an administrator coincided with the official start of the Title IX Educational Amendment of 1972. After graduating from Penn State University in 1964, Hibner taught high school in Pennsylvania and New York, coaching basketball, tennis and softball. After earning her master’s from State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, she moved to SUNY Binghamton to assume coaching, teaching and administrative tasks. She earned her Ph.D. from Texas Women’s University and assumed the duties of women’s athletic director, professor of physical education and coach at Simpson College in Iowa.
In support of women’s athletics, Hibner saw the Nebraska Athletic department grow from 10 women’s varsity sports in 1978 to the current 13 sports, which leads the Big 12 Conference, providing Nebraska women 117 scholarship opportunities.
A tireless supporter of sports for all ages, Hibner established events in Lincoln for women’s gymnastics, women’s basketball and volleyball. Hibner was responsible for the partnership between the women’s athletic department and DARE in 1989 that encouraged student-athlete involvement in community service projects. She received the lifetime achievement award from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office in May of 2004.
“Dr. H,” as she is fondly termed by many student-athletes and peers, would say she never “worked” a day in her life, and never wanted credit for paving the way for women in athletics. Yet, she received numerous honors.
Hibner was selected to receive the Lyell Bremser Special Merit Award from the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2003. She was chosen as the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators District VII Administrator of the Year in 1997.
The National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women named Hibner the 1998-99 Region III Administrator of the Year. Hibner, who received the YWCA Tribute to Women award in 1994, was honored in 2000 with the Nebraska Athletic Department’s first Trailblazer Award, an honor that will be renamed in her honor this spring upon its sixth presentation.
Leaving behind a legacy well documented in print as well, Hibner supervised the annual publication of the student-athlete handbook and was the senior editor of the letterwinners directory, “107 Years of Letterwinners at Nebraska,” in 1997. She also published the first staff policy and procedures manual for the women’s athletic department, and was the driving force in the creation of Nebraska’s mascot, “Lil’ Red,” in 1994.
Extremely active in the community, Big Eight and Big 12 Conference as well as on NCAA Committees, Hibner was an active member of the NCAA Committee on Athletics Certification and served a five-year term as a peer reviewer. She also completed service as chairwoman of the Big 12 Conference Board of Senior Woman Administrators in September of 1999, and was a member of the Big 12’s Administrative and Television Committees.
She was a member of the National Association for Collegiate Directors of Athletics and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators. Hibner previously was a member of the National Association of Athletic Marketing and Development and the National Association of Athletics Compliance Coordinators.
Dr. Hibner was also a member of the American Association of University Women, and the softball, women’s basketball and volleyball coaches associations, and was a member of the NCAA Women’s Committee on Committees from 1989 to 1991. She was chairperson of the NCAA Division I Midwest Softball Advisory Committee and a member of the NCAA Division I Softball Committee from 1999 to 2003 and served as director of the Women’s College World Series in 1991.
A true friend of nature, in her rare moments away from athletics, Dr. Hibner loved spending time fishing, gardening, and being with family and friends.
Hibner served on the Board of Directors of the University of Nebraska Federal Credit Union for six years, and was a past president of the University of Nebraska Association for Administrative Development.
Barbara is survived by her mother, Welma N. Wagaman (Hanover, Pa), her father, Murry E. Hibner (Oceanside, Calif.), and her seven brothers and sisters: Gary D. Hibner (Roseville, Mich.), Nancy J. Hill (Des Moines, Iowa), Richard W. Wagaman, Jr. (Bartlett, Tenn.), Susan L. Baublitz (Abbottstown, Pa.), Peggy D. Beard (Hanover, Pa.), Lynda K. Racer (Hanover, Pa.), and Robin Barton (York, Pa.). She is preceded in death by her brother Bobby E. Wagaman, who greeted Barbara in Heaven. Barbara also has nine nephews, nine nieces, 16 great nephews and 15 great nieces.
The funeral and burial will be Monday, March 12 in McSherrystown, Pa. A Celebration of Life will be held on the University of Nebraska campus the following week. Details of both will be announced as soon as available.
The family has asked that all memorials be directed to the Dr. Barbara Hibner Memorial Fund for Nebraska Athletics. Please make checks payable to the University of Nebraska Foundation and send to the University of Nebraska Athletic Development Office, One Memorial Stadium, P.O. Box 880154, Lincoln, NE 68588-0154.
What others said about Dr. Hibner...
Steve Pederson, University of Nebraska Athletic Director
“Today, I have lost a dear friend. When she arrived in 1978, few could have imagined the impact she would have on Nebraska athletics. She gave Nebraska her talents and her heart. We will always be indebted.”
Rhonda Revelle, University of Nebraska Head Softball Coach, Senior Women’s Administrator, mentee and close friend
“There is absolutely no beginning or end to the love, admiration and respect that I have for Barbara. Dr. H has been my role model, my compass, my mentor and most of all...my friend. She has been my greatest supporter, enthusiastic teacher, wisest counsel, and loyal confidant.
I have lived each and every day as a professional at the University of Nebraska in the knowledge that without Barbara’s guidance and leadership, I would not be the coach of the Cornhuskers. One of my goals is to bring honor to her decision to hire me, and forever work to have her proud to have made that decision.
When Dr. Hibner announced her retirement, and Steve talked with me about succeeding Dr. Hibner as Senior Women’s Administrator, I told him that as a full-time coach, I could not make that commitment until I had Barbara’s support. She encouraged me and let me know that she believed I could and should do both.
Her mentoring has always gone to the next level. Her selflessness and candor were remarkable features of her person. She gave me and Nebraska Women’s Athletics every piece of knowledge and every ounce of energy she had.
Most of all, Dr. Hibner has taught us all to lead by word and by example. She will be greatly missed, but her presence will forever be evident in each of our women’s athletic programs here at Nebraska.”
Terry Pettit, former University of Nebraska Head Volleyball Coach
On the Life of Dr. Barbara Hibner
“She had the only kind of ‘open door policy’ that really matters. Her door was always open.
It was open to coaches, student-athletes, custodians, fans, and in particular, anyone without pretension. The door was closed only to people who had any idea of promoting her role in the development of women’s athletics at the University of Nebraska, which was considerable.
She was, to paraphrase Warren Bennis, not someone who was primarily interested in singing and dancing but rather someone ‘who wanted to create an environment where singers and dancers could flourish.’
In the beginning she adopted the tactics of her generation of women leaders. She approached the boss after a big win or on his best days to ask for a larger per diem for female athletes or for practice clothes for women’s basketball.
In time, the cause she witnessed for, opportunity for women to be extraordinary, required her to be more direct in her call for equal access to the best physicians, the best facilities, the best talent the department could offer.
More than anything else she wanted to be part of a team. While everyone benefited from this desire, there were a few lucky ones who understood this need. She became a champion of women’s softball, women’s gymnastics, women’s soccer and women’s volleyball, not because of any predisposition, but because the coaches in those sports asked her to help.
It was her Clarion call. Her talent was her competency, her attention to the smallest details upon which an event Nebraska hosted would move from the mundane to the exceptional. Her stamina for doing the important tasks that others would disdain was legendary.
I am told by someone I trust that the last words she uttered were ‘I have to get to the volleyball match.’ She needn’t worried. She was always there. And for those of us who have a daughter in micro-soccer, a sister in med school or a mother with high self-esteem, she still is.”
Robin Krapfl, Head NU Women’s Golf Coach
“Dr. Hibner was an amazing person. I owe so much of who and what I am to her. She taught me how to be a better person how to handle adversity with dignity, when to speak up and when to listen. But most of all, she set the example for how things should be done through hard work and dedication. I strive to be more like her every day. What she has meant to the University of Nebraska, to Women’s Athletics, and to me is immeasurable. She touched the lives of so many, in ways we can never fully comprehend. The generations of women past, present, and still to come owe Dr. Hibner gratitude for what she has done, and what they are able to do because of the road she paved.”
Tom Osborne, former University of Nebraska Head Football Coach
“I’m very sorry to hear about the passing of Barb. Barb was a good friend. We shared an interest in fishing and often talked about that. Barb is responsible for much of the rise of women’s athletics at Nebraska. She was a woman’s athletic administrator during a time of tremendous growth in women’s athletics. During her tenure, women’s athletics emerged as a very important part of the athletic scene at the University of Nebraska. We will certainly miss her and her leadership. She was a good friend.”
Jim Ross, Former Nebraska Assistant Football Coach
“Barb Hibner was the driving force in getting women’s athletics organized. The program continued to grow under her management. She was dedicated and determined whenever she started a project. For fun and relaxation, she loved fishing and had her own boat. She was a most enthusiastic Husker fan. I always appreciated her support.”
Don Bryant, former NU Associate Athletic Director and Sports Information Director
“I was saddened to hear that Barb Hibner lost her valiant battle against cancer. Barb was a great credit to the athletic department, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the state—a tremendous leader in the growth of women’s athletics and a role model to those who follow in athletic administration. She was totally dedicated to achieve success in any challenge she faced. Barb will be remembered as an athletic administrator who made a difference at Nebraska and in the Big Eight and Big 12 Conferences. I will always remember Barb’s enthusiasm and pleasure in her development of Lil’ Red, the popular Husker mascot. More important, however, was Barb’s dedication to excellence in all aspects of her impressive career.”
John Cook, Nebraska Head Volleyball Coach
“Nebraska lost a great pioneer and advocate for Husker Athletics, but from her efforts women’s athletics took a huge step forward. She taught us all how to dream big. Our next goal is to endow a scholarship in her honor.”
Nancy Kindig-Malone
“Barb arrived in Nebraska at a pivotal time in history. She had a job to do and systematically proceeded to transform girls into women and dreams into reality for female athletes. What most people will remember Barb for was her tenacity and dedication in building the Husker Women’s Athletic Program into national prominence. But, that is what she “did”, not who she was.
I believe her true legacy will live on in the individual athletes she fought for, mentored, protected...and ultimately loved. She taught us there are no gender barriers for those who strive to succeed. And there are many former Husker female athletes in the world today who are better women because of her.”
She always said, ‘Integrity leads and lasts.’ Her life was a testimony to that statement and will be the foundation for Husker athletics for years to come.”