Tom Osborne will be back on familiar turf on May 8.
The former Nebraska football coach, athletic director and congressman will deliver the keynote address, “Begin with the End in Mind,” during the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s undergraduate commencement ceremonies at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
A native of Hastings, where he earned his bachelor’s degree at Hastings College, Osborne enjoyed a brief playing career in the National Football League before receiving his master’s and doctoral degrees in educational psychology at Nebraska while serving as an assistant coach under Bob Devaney. Osborne was named Devaney’s successor in 1973 and over the next 25 years established himself as one of the best coaches in college football history. He guided Nebraska to 13 conference titles and three national championships, and helped Nebraska claim the most Academic All-Americans in the nation. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
After retiring from coaching, Osborne turned his attention to teaching graduate courses at Nebraska. In 2000, he was elected to represent Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District, where he served three terms. In 2007, Osborne returned to the university to serve as athletic director, leading Nebraska Athletics into the Big Ten Conference one year before retiring in 2012. Osborne has devoted countless hours during his career toward a unique mentoring program. The TeamMates program, founded in 1991 by Tom and his wife, Nancy, provides support and encouragement to more than 10,000 school-aged youth in five states with the goal of seeing them graduate from high school and pursue a post-secondary education.
The May exercises will be the first time since December 2019 — before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — that the university has held full-fledged commencement ceremonies in person. More than 3,500 degrees will be conferred during ceremonies May 7 and 8.
So that graduates and their guests can maintain proper distancing, undergraduates will be divided into two groups for separate ceremonies at Memorial Stadium.
Students from the following colleges will participate in the morning ceremony:
> College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
> College of Architecture
> College of Business
> College of Journalism and Mass Communications
> Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts
> UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service
Students from the following colleges will participate in the afternoon ceremony:
> College of Arts and Sciences
> College of Education and Human Sciences
> College of Engineering
The College of Law commencement ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. May 7 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Doctoral and master’s degrees will be conferred by the Office of Graduate Studies at 4 p.m. May 7, also at the arena.
Jennifer Clarke, professor of food science and technology, and statistics, and director of the Quantitative Life Sciences Initiative at Nebraska, will give the address at the graduate and professional degrees ceremony. Riko Bishop, a judge of the Nebraska Court of Appeals, will speak to the law graduates.
The university will present Connie Clifton Rath, president of the Clifton Foundation, with an honorary Doctor of Commerce during the morning undergraduate ceremony.
Chancellor Ronnie Green will preside over the commencement ceremonies.
The university is partnering with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to ensure proper social distancing between attendees to minimize the risk of coronavirus transmission. Graduates and their guests will be required to wear face coverings at all times while inside the commencement venues. All graduate and public seating will be socially distanced.
If inclement weather arises, Sunday, May 9, has been set aside as an alternate date for the undergraduate commencement ceremonies.
Because of the need to maintain distancing, these events will be limited to May 2021 graduates and their guests. Future ceremonies will be offered to 2020 graduates who wish to return to campus for an in-person celebration of their degrees.
Graduates must have signed up to attend commencement. To help protect participants and their guests, COVID-19 saliva testing will be required of all participating students, faculty and staff who will be on the field or arena floor. All graduates must receive a negative COVID-19 test result in the one to three days prior to their ceremony. Vaccination status is not a factor; all participating graduates must be tested. “Building access granted” status on the SaferCommunity app or a building access pass from the online testing portal is required for entrance. For more details, including required testing dates and information on exemptions, visit https://go.unl.edu/74e6. Testing questions can be sent to . Testing is not required for regular guests.
To maintain a secure environment, Memorial Stadium and Pinnacle Bank Arena enforce a clear-bag policy that limits the size and type of bag that may be brought into the venues. Details are available at https://go.unl.edu/clearbags. To avoid inconveniences, guests are encouraged to arrive early and travel light.
Tickets are required for all guests at Memorial Stadium. All tickets are free and will be accessible on mobile devices. Each graduate could request up to eight tickets, which can only be accessed by the student through Huskers.com with a unique password. Guests should use the west entrances, with seating limited to West Stadium. Students will be seated on the field. Guests will not be allowed on the field at any point during commencement. They may meet up with graduates outside the gates of Memorial Stadium after the ceremonies.
Handicap seating is available on the apron of the West Stadium bowl with an appropriate ticket. The entrance is Gate 3. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided on the ribbon boards. First aid will be at the northwest station on the north concourse for guests and the southeast field-level station for those on the field.
Free parking is available with no permit needed (except for handicap visitors) in City Campus parking garages and surface lots, unless otherwise marked. Guests are encouraged to park on the west side of Memorial Stadium for easier access to guest entrances.
Limited handicap parking is available in the surface lots around the stadium. Vehicles must have appropriate, state-issued handicap permits or license plates. A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on Stadium Drive, directly west of the stadium.
Undergraduates are to check in no later than 9:15 a.m. for the morning ceremony and 3:15 p.m. for the afternoon ceremony, at the Hawks Championship Center, just north of Memorial Stadium. Students should bring their student ID and cellphone and enter through the west gates. Graduates will check in and go directly to their assigned seats inside the stadium. Graduates are encouraged to wear shoes without high heels since they will be walking on field turf.
Tickets are not required for the ceremonies at Pinnacle Bank Arena. The public may sit in any open seats other than on the main floor, which is set for graduates, faculty and dignitaries. Handicap seating is available on the concourse level in Sections 106, 107, 112, 114, 117 and 118. Open captioning for people with hearing impairment will be provided through the ribbon screens at the corners of the arena concourse level. For Pinnacle Bank Arena seating charts, visit https://go.unl.edu/pinnacleseating. Guest services and first aid will be on Level 3 at Gate 112.
Paid parking for Pinnacle Bank Arena, including handicap spaces, is available in Haymarket area garages and on the street. Parking in the Red 1 Garage, 555 R St. at $3 per vehicle, can be reserved and paid in advance at http://parkandgo.org. The arena’s north lobby entrance will not be open for commencement.
A drop-off area for mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the U.S. Post Office building, 700 R St., directly east of Pinnacle Bank Arena, although the area is expected to be highly congested. Parking maps are available at http://www.pinnaclebankarena.com/visit.
Graduating students are to check in no later than 9:15 a.m. for the College of Law ceremony. Graduates should enter the arena through the southeast doors, near the Huskers Authentic Store. Students should bring their student ID and cellphone. They will be directed to line up for a processional.
Graduates should check in no later than 3:30 p.m. for the graduate and professional degrees ceremony. Graduates should enter via the south lobby entrance, off R Street. Students should bring their student ID and cellphone. Graduates will check in and go directly to their assigned seating on the arena floor.
Graduates should contact the Office of the University Registrar with accessibility concerns.
Graduates and their guests are asked to stay for the entire ceremony.
The ceremonies will be streamed at http://commencement.unl.edu and broadcast live on Spectrum channel 1303, Allo channel 23 and Kinetic channel 1080.
For more information on the May commencement ceremonies, visit https://commencement.unl.edu or email .
