For former UNI softball coach and UNI Athletics Hall of Famer Jane Mertesdorf, things weren’t always at a championship level on campus. Despite leading the Panthers to multiple state championships and a national championship in 1978, the softball program definitely had its struggles.
Initially coming to UNI as an instructor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, after two years Mertesdorf traveled to Ball State University to receive her Master’s degree in physical education. She came back to UNI in 1969 and typically taught in the Division of Recreation and was involved with the creation of a recreation major.