The 9/11 Tribute Hidden in Nebraska Softball’s Retired Jersey Number
The Nebraska Cornhusker softball program has seen many great players come and go, but only six have been honored with a retired uniform at Bowlin Stadium.
While five of those uniforms have to do with lengendary careers on the field, the No. 15 has a story unlike the others.
Julie Geis was a pioneer for women's athletics. During her senior year at Centennial High School, she wanted to play basketball. The obstacle in her way? There wasn't a girl's team. So, she started one.
Geis went on to play softball at the University of Nebraska from 1976 to 1979, where she played alongside current Huskers head coach Rhonda Revelle, earned two degrees, and eventually earned her PhD in Educational Administration, Curriculum, and Instruction.
After college, Geis taught special education in Lincoln and eventually took a corporate job at Aon Consulting, Inc., in Kansas City.
The corporate gig moved Geis away from Nebraska and took around the world.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Geis showed up for work on the 105th floor of the South Tower. She was just in New York for a week and was hoping to catch the New York Yankees game that night.
Geis was never heard from again after the South Tower was hit.
Today we remember a friend, a teammate and a Husker.
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) September 11, 2023
Your jersey shines over Bowlin Stadium every day Julie Geis. ❤️#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/znplYFDC7i
Revelle knew she had to do something, so she gathered her team and took them to give blood. At the blood bank, Revelle received the phone call. Later that night, she sat with a group of her old teammates and watched the news, hoping to catch a glimpse of a familiar face.
"It was a very loud silence," Revelle said in an interview with Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN in 2011. "I don't know if anybody could articulate their emotions at the time."
Just a couple of weeks later, Revelle and former associate athletic director Paul Meyers launched their efforts to start a fully endowed scholarship in Geis's honor. Raising $250,000 would be the most difficult part of the process. The easiest part was that Geis's mother, Betty, would choose the recipients.
It took five years to raise the necessary funds to make it fully endowed, but the money raised at an annual golf outing during that time was handed out to Nebraska natives on the softball team, who embodied Geis's spirit.
Today, we remember the lives lost 18 years ago, including that of our very own, Julie Geis.
— Nebraska Softball (@HuskerSoftball) September 11, 2019
We celebrate her legacy by awarding a memorial scholarship to one Husker Softball player every year.
The first player to receive the Julie Geis Scholarship was Amanda Buchholz. The most recent recipient was Jordy Bahl.
Geis's No. 15 was retired on Oct. 12, 2001, and the scholarship allows her legacy to live on through someone new each season.
Julie Geis Memorial Scholarship Recipients
2002-03 - Amanda Buchholz
2003-04 - Peaches James
2004-05 - Katie Linke
2005-06 - Jaime Borg
2006-07 - Molly Hill
2007-08 - Molly Hill
2008-09 - Heidi Foland
2009-10 - Heidi Foland
2010-11 - Ashley Hagemann
2011-12 - Nikki Haget
2012-13 - Megan Southworth
2013-14 - Alicia Armstrong
2014-15 - Alicia Armstrong
2015-16 - Lotte Sjulin
2016-17 - Gina Metzler
2017-18 - Kaylan Jablonski
2018-19 - Madi Unzicker
2019-20 - Olivia Ferrell
2020-21 - Karlee Seevers
2021-22 - Karlee Seevers
2022-23 - Abbie Squier
2023-24 - Billie Andrews
2024-25 - Jordy Bahl
-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.