Chris Anderson to Be Honored Saturday as a Trailblazer for Women's Athletics

To commemorate 50 years of Title IX, Nebraska will celebrate a trailblazer in women's athletics at every home football game. This week, Chris Anderson will be recognized and honored during the game against Oklahoma. 
A member of the Nebraska Athletic Department for nearly 30 years, Chris Anderson was a trailblazer for women working in athletics. 

She recently served Nebraska as the Associate Athletic Director for Community, Governmental and Charitable Relations from 2007-2020.

Anderson's responsibilities included community, governmental and charitable relations, directing the Community Engagement Program, assisting patrons with special needs, and coordinating special and group events.

She previously served as associate athletic director for communications from 2003 to 2007, and was Nebraska's sports information director from 1993 to 2004. Anderson served as the primary football contact for the 1994, 1995 and 1997 national championship teams. 

Anderson oversaw all athletic department publications and television productions while assisting with radio and television contracts. A member of the senior athletic administration staff, Anderson was in charge of all publicity and promotional activities for the Nebraska football team and oversaw the publication of all NU sports information printed materials for all 23 varsity sports.  

Anderson was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America Hall of Fame in 2003. 

She orchestrated multiple major football award winning campaigns. This included the Heisman Trophy (Eric Crouch), Rimington Trophy (Dominic Raiola), Butkus Award (Trev Alberts), Davey O'Brien Award (Eric Crouch), Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (Eric Crouch), Outland Trophy (Zach Wiegert, Aaron Taylor) and the Lombardi Award (Grant Wistrom). 

Anderson replaced the late Don Bryant in 1997 after he retired as associate athletic director for public relations. Anderson served as assistant athletic director for communications for the final six years of her SID tenure. 

After graduating from UNL in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in journalism, Anderson completed two years as an assistant sports information director at Kansas State University, Anderson returned to her alma mater in January 1986 to assume a similar position for the Huskers. After seven years as an assistant SID, she was just the third person in school history to hold the title of sports information director, following in the footsteps of the late John Bentley and Bryant, who held the position for 31 years. She was named interim director in 1992, and promoted to SID in 1993. 

Chris Anderson was the first woman to be a sports information director for a Division I football program. 

Anderson served as vice chairperson in charge of publicity on the CoSIDA postgraduate scholarship committee and was a three-year At-Large University Representative on the CoSIDA Board of Directors from 1996 to 1998. 

A native of Panama, Neb., Anderson graduated from Nebraska in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. She served as a student assistant in the Nebraska Sports Information Office from 1979 to 1983. The former Chris Bouma, she is married to Ron Anderson, and has a stepson, Riley, and two sons, Jake and Daniel.