Ruth and Bill Scott received the 2015-16 Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award for their generous support of University of Nebraska Athletics. The Scotts were the trailblazers who set the tone for the capital campaign to build the new Dr. Barbara Hibner Stadium and the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center, and they donated the lead gift that triggered the momentum to name the stadium in Dr. Hibner’s honor.
In addition to their significant contributions to Nebraska’s soccer program, the Scotts have provided support for numerous other Nebraska Athletics facilities. Ruth and Bill Scott have been pioneers in their support of women’s athletics, including providing leadership gifts that allowed for the naming of Dr. Barbara Hibner Stadium (soccer) and Terry Pettit Court (volleyball), which honor two of the most influential people in the growth of women’s athletics at the University of Nebraska.
In 2009, the Scotts were awarded the Regents Medal, the most prestigious award bestowed by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. The Scotts were recognized, according to the Board of Regents, for being “among the most generous donors in the history of the University of Nebraska.” The Scotts were just the second recipients of the Regents Medal.
Both Nebraska natives, Ruth earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1952 and taught school in Lincoln before founding the Omaha Bridge Studio. Bill earned a degree from the UNL College of Business Administration in 1953. He joined Buffett Partnership in 1959 - as Warren Buffett’s first employee - and Berkshire Hathaway in 1970, where he remained until his retirement in 1993.
The Scotts have not only made significant contributions to Nebraska Athletics, but also the entire University of Nebraska system, supporting UNL, Nebraska-Kearney, Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. They also helped transform the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus, including providing lead gifts on new buildings for four UNMC colleges: medicine, nursing, public health and pharmacy.