Skip to main content

Throwback Thursday: Sapp Fieldhouse

Construction of the fieldhouse from the west, in 1949

Construction of the fieldhouse from the west, in 1949

We'll share a vintage University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) photo each Thursday on our homepage as part of the popular "Throwback Thursday."

Check back each week for a photo celebrating UNO's history, and to learn more about what's happening on campus and in our community, and future plans for the university.

Visit the UNO Criss Library Flickr photostream for even more photos.

  • This week's photo features the fieldhouse under construction. The fieldhouse cornerstone was laid on May 13, 1949.

From OMAVS.com

Constructed in 1949-50, the Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse is home to Maverick volleyball and women’s basketball. The track and field team also trains in the facility.

Named for two longtime loyal supporters of UNO and the athletic program, the facility can seat up to 3,500 with 750 chair-back seats and has hosted numerous national tournaments. The Fieldhouse also houses the athletic department offices and is located in the heart of the campus.

Hamilton Academic Excellence Room

In 2012, UNO Athletics opened the Brian and Carey Hamilton Academic Excellence Room, located in Sapp Fieldhouse.

The staff works closely with administrators, coaches, faculty, and campus student services personnel to help student-athletes better balance the demands of academic responsibilities with participation in athletics. The services available, congruent with the institution‘s educational mission and its academic policies and procedures, are designed to recognize the importance of a culturally diverse environment and to facilitate the student‘s academic commitment, performance, and responsibility.

Read more.

Academic Success
The University of Nebraska Omaha’s 265 student-athletes reached new heights in their academic pursuits in 2013, achieving an all student-athlete grade-point average of 3.37 during the fall semester which ended in December. It’s the highest single semester all-student-athlete GPA in school history.

“We have made a considerable investment in the academic success of our student-athletes since we began our reclassification to Division I,” said Trev Alberts, UNO’s Director of Athletics. “These on-going efforts are being manifested in the steadily improving grade-point averages of our students during a period in their lives when they are facing greater demands on their time.”

“The Hamilton Academic Excellence Room in the Sapp Fieldhouse has proven to be an outstanding resource for our student-athletes,” said Lindsey Ekwerekwu, Assistant Athletic Director, Academics. “But it wouldn’t be paying the dividends it is without the hard work and dedication of our academic support staff who have executed the plan we put in place to help all of our athletes succeed.”

Read more.

UNO/Community Arena

As part of UNO’s mission as a premier metropolitan university, UNO Athletics is working on a new arena project just south of Aksarben Village, between 64th and 67th streets.

The arena will not only enhance the visibility of the UNO campus, but it will also provide great benefit, both economically and socially, to the Omaha metropolitan area.

Watch the live webcam of construction