Huskers use #CelebrateDiversityMonth as opportunity to reflect, push for more momentum for Inclusion initiatives.

           
The month of April is recognized as celebrate diversity month, and Nebraska Athletics is taking the time to reflect on the vital work of diversity and inclusion for all Huskers. The Huskers have shown their commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion internally and externally for years, and 2019-2020 was no different. Through a robust calendar, highlighted by the annual diversity and inclusion summit, Nebraska Athletics has celebrated diversity, practiced inclusion and strived to maintain an inclusive environment on a monthly basis during the 2019-2020 school year. For the 2019-2020 school year, Husker Athletics has launched a new student-athlete leadership group for underrepresented athletes, collaborated on programming for international student-athlete transition, held educational lunch and learn sessions, and launched the Husker Inclusion Council. The timeline below highlights the diversity and inclusion programming throughout the 2019-2020 school year.

 
August 2019

• Nebraska Life Skills launches N-Vest, a leadership group for minority, international and female student-athletes. N-Vest prepares underrepresented athletes for a smooth transition into UNL and provides athletes with a mentor to help with their personal and career development.
• Athletics hosts international student-athlete welcome program to welcome international student-athletes to campus, providing admissions tips, building community and ensuring international athletes were connected to the International Student and Scholars Office (ISSO) on campus.

 
September 2019

• Nebraska Athletics celebrates Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month by highlighting student-athletes and staff from Latinx and Hispanic backgrounds.
• Nebraska Football completed the first Spanish broadcast in Husker history with Enrique "Kike" Morales and Oscar "El Tico" Monterroso. Monterroso called the game, with Morales describing the play-by-play and Monterroso adding color commentary. Morales and Monterroso serve as the Spanish-language announcing crew for the Kansas City Chiefs, in partnership with Tico Sports.

 

October 2019 

• N-Volved, Nebraska athletics social climate leadership group, hosted a program titled, "Creating Safer Spaces" featuring Executive Director of OutNebraska, Abbi Swatsworth. OutNebraska is a local organization that serves to empower and celebrate LGBTQ+ communities through promoting visibility and working collaboratively with others across the state of Nebraska.  Swatsworth educated the group on correct terminology, pronouns, and practices within the LGBTQ+ community. Engaging in a few group activities and discussion, N-volved members were able to ask questions and develop a better understanding of different perspectives. N-volved members also hosted an LGBTQ+ awareness table outside the training table at dinner. They distributed fact sheets about prominent LGBTQ+ celebrities, conversation cards to spark discussion over dinner, and rainbow cookies for dessert. Additionally, music created by LGBTQ+ individuals was played in the background. Nebraska Athletics also hosted a lunch and learn for staff, featuring JD McCown, Assistant Director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center on campus.
   
• Nebraska Athletics completed a week of social media posts for the annual Diversity and Inclusion Social Media Campaign. See the Huskers posts here.

November 2019

• Nebraska Athletics honored our Veteran and Military Service members with celebratory games in the sports of volleyball, football, women's basketball, and more. Veteran and Military service members are often celebrated within Nebraska Athletics through all sports, but November is recognized as Veteran and Military Family Appreciation Month.
   
• Nebraska Athletics co-hosted the Global Huskers Festival. This multicultural festival, sponsored by ISSO in partnership with Athletics, Student Involvement, and Housing, provides attendees the chance to explore the world through informational booths that will have food, cultural décor, art, and more, each hosted by UNL students from those cultures!

 

December 2020

• Nebraska Athletics is selected as an honorable mention for the NCAA/ Minority Opportunities Athletic Association's (MOAA) Award for Diversity and Inclusion. The NCAA/MOAA Award for Diversity and Inclusion recognizes and celebrates the initiatives, policies and practices of colleges and universities and/or athletics conferences that embrace diversity and inclusion across intercollegiate athletics and higher education. Nebraska was one of three institutions selected as honorable mention award winners, with Oregon winning the award for 2019.

 
January 2020

• Nebraska Athletics hosted the annual Diversity And Inclusion Summit with nationally renowned speaker Justin Jones Fosu.

 

 

• Nebraska Athletics celebrated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in the annual MLK Rally, led by Lincoln Public Schools. 
  
  
   

 

• Nebraska Athletics attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit for the first time, hosted by the University of Texas-Austin. Huskers then launched Husker Hemisphere, an outlet where real athletes have real conversations, to detail their experience at the Black Student-Athlete Summit. 
  
   

February 2020

• For the first time since 2004, Nebraska Athletics has created a special poster to commemorate the rich tradition of Black, African Diaspora and African-American student-athletes who have left their mark on Husker history.

 

• Nebraska Athletics also celebrated Black History Month with the Black History Month Art Showcase. A collaboration with the Black Graduate Student Association and the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, the showcase is a tribute to black culture in the arts, and frequently features student-athletes as hosts, DJ's or acts.
   

March 2020

• Nebraska Athletics officially re-launched the Husker Inclusion Council. The Husker Inclusion Council will serve as the diversity, equity and inclusion council for Nebraska Athletics. Led by Diversity and Inclusion Director DaWon Baker, the council will lead the diversity strategic plan for athletics, and will serve as advocates for diversity and inclusion throughout the department.
• Nebraska Athletics also honored Sheroes and International Women's Day. The Huskers highlighted former and current women student-athletes who left their mark on Husker History as a tribute to Women's History Month.

 

As the school year closes, Nebraska Athletics will continue to strive for inclusive excellence with monthly lunch and learns, as well as celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May 2020.

"Our goal is for every employee, student-athlete, fan and supporter to know that this is what we do at Nebraska," said Baker, the Diversity and Inclusion Director in athletics. "Husker Nation knows no bounds, so for us to consider multiple lived experiences and highlight those lived experiences in our branding and policies is crucial to our collective success. We want to represent the state of Nebraska, our students, our staff and fans from all walks, and the best way to do that is to enact policies that are inclusive."

To review some of the diversity and inclusion initiatives from Nebraska Athletics, please see the following information here!
https://huskers.com/sports/diversity