Ann Schroeder- Lincoln

While a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ann Schroeder began officiating intramural basketball games in 1982 and later started doing junior high contests. That led to a 35-year career as the leading pioneer woman basketball referee in Nebraska. Her career as a referee took place while she was teaching and coaching volleyball at Norris High School, leading the Titans to a State Championship in 1991. A veteran of Iowa’s 6-on-6 game, she checked off a list of “firsts” — first woman to officiate a boys district, first two-woman crew to referee a girls’/boys’ doubleheader and the first two-woman crew at the girls’ state tournament. An inspiration and a mentor for women who followed her, she worked a total of 11 state tournaments and officiated college games at every level including eight Division I conferences.