Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
What was everybody talking about on campus 100 years ago? Or 50 years ago? Or five years ago?
We’ve compiled some of the biggest stories from Creighton’s past to form another edition of our ever-popular Creighton Anniversaries.
Here’s to 2026! And to all the incredible people and places that have made institution a special place.
(Note: This story and stories like this are made possible by the great work of the University Archives and Special Collections, the keeper of Creighton’s history. Please consider making a gift to the Archives and helping us preserve these incredible stories for generations to come.)
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150 years ago
1876: Mary Lucretia Creighton includes Creighton in her will
It was a generous gift that literally laid the foundation for Creighton University. Mary Lucretia Creighton died at age 41, two years after the passing of her husband, Edward Creighton.
Her gift: In her will, she left a $100,000 bequest to establish a Catholic university in Omaha.
Creighton University, then Creighton College, opened its doors two years later in 1878.
100 years ago
1926: Student writes Creighton’s fight song
Gordon X. Richmond, BA’26, pulled out his banjo and a piece of paper. On one particular night in 1926, he decided he was going to compose a fight song for Creighton.
He’d talked about it for a while. Friends had, too. How Creighton needed a melodic tune to sing out and rally behind. And given his talents — Richmond started his own five-piece orchestra, he was a member of the Creighton glee club, and he earned accolades for being a skilled orator and writer — he was more than capable of coming up with something.
So, despite looming coursework, Richmond gave it a go on his banjo.
By morning, he had “The White and the Blue.” He jotted the notes and chords on a sheet of paper, with the lyrics written beneath it.
“I picked it out on my banjo,” Richmond later told The Omaha World-Herald.
The song caught on. It soon became Creighton’s official fight song. It’s remained as the school’s main anthem for 100 years.
Richmond went on to earn a law degree from Southern California and open a law practice before becoming president of the California Republican Assembly. He died in 1979.
50 years ago
1976: Swanson, Kiewit Halls go coed
The two biggest residence halls on campus underwent major changes in 1976. They went coed.
The all-male Swanson Hall welcomed women. The women-only Kiewit Hall added men.
It was a decision that had been recommended by the Student Life and Policy Committee. Then-associate dean of students Jim Doyle told The Creightonian that a survey two years earlier indicted 70% of dorm residents preferred a coed residence hall.
After the change, the reviews were positive right from the start, according to a report in The Creightonian. Swanson got less rowdy. Kiewit became more casual.
“The students have been very cooperative,” said Fr. Michael Cannon, SJ, East Quad director. “They realize coed housing is a good thing to have and they don’t want to abuse it.”
After all, Gallagher Hall had been coed for a few years without incident, Cannon said.
1976: A concert … and a controversy
The Eagles were coming to perform in Omaha, and Creighton had 500 tickets to offer to students on a first-come, first-serve basis.
But…
It was soon uncovered that the Student Board of Governors had previously voted to reserve two subsidized Eagles tickets for each board member.
The Creightonian published letters to the editor that criticized the board for its “grave misuse of power.” For a couple of weeks, it was the biggest controversy on campus. But eventually, the uproar faded, and 500 students attended the Eagles concert.
Check out our recent story chronicling Creighton's 25 greatest concerts.
1976: Creighton returns to the MVC
Creighton Athletics operated as an independent for 28 years after resigning from the Missouri Valley Conference following its post-World War II decision to dissolve its football program.
But in 1976, the MVC dropped its football requirement for membership.
And the league brought the Bluejays back.
(From 1928 to 1948, the Jays were also in the MVC, which actually formed two decades earlier and is the nation’s second-oldest Division I conference.)
In its second stint in the conference, Creighton competed as an MVC member from 1978 to 2013. The Jays were a fixture in the league, battling regional rivals for championships and earning recognition nationally for postseason success. The men’s basketball program remains tied for the all-time lead in Missouri Valley regular season titles (15).
Creighton moved to the BIG EAST Conference in 2013.
40 years ago
1986: Beal’s Grill closes
Beal’s Grill was the beloved dive at the southeast corner of 24th and California that for nearly 50 years served burgers, fries and insults to thousands of Creighton students, faculty and staff.
It was first a house. Walt Beal’s house. Then, one day, he decided to transform it into a restaurant.
Soon, Beal’s was a cornerstone of campus life — and Beal himself emerged as a Hilltop legend.
BealBurgers and fries were patrons’ favorite meal choices, but each day, the menu featured everything from the breakfast staples of pancakes, eggs and bacon to snarky specials like “Sewer Trout,” “Sow Belly” and “Floor-Sweepings Pie.”
Owner Howard Fiedler took over the grill after Beal passed away and later reflected on his more than 30 years working at the restaurant:
“I have a lot of fun with the people who come in, especially the Creighton students. They have changed over the years, but they all have one thing in common — they’re good kids.”
Read our recent tribute to Beal’s
1986: Construction begins on the student center
It wasn’t an easy (or a wholly student-supported) decision to eliminate a good chunk of popular green space in front of the Kiewit Fitness Center. But Creighton students needed a spot on campus to relax and socialize.
A place to study, eat, play pool, meet up with friends and host events.
So, the University committed $6 million to a new student center — now the Skutt Student Center.
Branded as Creighton’s new "living room," the $6 million, three-story student center was designed with the idea that it would develop its own charm and vibe over time.
“We want it to be multi-purpose, but with character,” said John Cernech, then-vice president of student services.
(Other campus locations for the student center were considered, too: Between the Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library and St. John’s Church OR in place of what’s now known as Dowling Hall. In front of the KFC made the most sense, though, to maximize student foot traffic.)
30 years ago
1996: Creighton advances to the College Cup
The men’s soccer program had just relaunched itself six years prior, after not fielding a team from 1986 to 1989. And suddenly, the Bluejays were among the nation’s best.
They won three NCAA tournament games in 1996 to reach the program’s first College Cup (soccer’s version of the Final Four). Creighton also earned the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. Johnny Torres, now the program's head coach, was named National Player of the Year by Soccer America.
Creighton ended up losing their first College Cup game 2-1 to St. John’s. The Jays have advanced to the College Cup five times since.
1996: Creighton adds the B+ grade
After long debate and careful consideration, Creighton added the B+ to its grading system in the spring semester of 1996. It was added, faculty and administrators said at the time, to bring more precision to academic achievement. Prior to the B+’s debut, Creighton had just one half-grade: the C+.
The addition of the B+ was a minor controversy with students. Some worried it stood as a new barrier to the coveted A. But in The Creightonian, a business student with a healthy outlook seemed to put the matter to rest:
“(The B+) is good in a way because everyone struggles for the extra point.”
And what about the B- grade?
There were talks about adding minus grades soon after, but they were squashed by 2001.
It took until 2007 for Creighton to officially add minuses to its grading scale.
25 years ago
2001: Creighton launches Magis teaching program
Under-resourced and smaller Catholic schools across the region needed teachers. In response, Creighton decided to borrow a program that had been implemented successfully at Notre Dame.
Mentoring Academic Gifts In Service (MAGIS).
The MAGIS program required graduate students to devote two years to professional and spiritual growth as educators. They’d gain firsthand teaching experience while also building community with fellow students.
Six students were part of the original cohort, which formed in 2001 and officially launched with coursework the following summer.
The program soon evolved into what is known today as Creighton’s Magis Catholic Teacher Corps, which over the last 25 years, has helped shape hundreds of service-minded educators who’ve positively impacted children in Catholic schools across the Midwest.
5 years ago
2021: Creighton reaches first Sweet 16 since 1974
How sweet it was! The Bluejay men’s basketball team knocked off UC Santa Barbara in the first round and Ohio in the second round to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. The squad was led by several stars, including Marcus Zegarowski, Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson and Christian Bishop.
It was a long-awaited milestone for a program that had spent decades developing a national profile, producing talented players and cultivating a devoted fan base. Just a year prior, the Jays won a share of the BIG EAST regular season title and seemed poised for a deep NCAA run — but the postseason was canceled due to the pandemic.
As expected, there was much rejoicing in 2021 once Creighton finally earned its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1974 (and back in the 70s, only 25 teams made the tournament).
The moment proved to be a breakthrough for the program, too.
The Jays reached the Sweet 16 twice more in the next three years — they advanced to the Elite Eight in 2023.
2021: Creighton opens a campus in Phoenix
Expanding on longstanding Phoenix partnerships and affirming its investment in healthcare education in Arizona, Creighton announced a bold addition to its footprint in 2021.
A new campus in Phoenix.
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Health Sciences Building on Creighton University's Phoenix campus opened to serve nearly 900 students, including future physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, pharmacists and physician assistants. With more than 16,000 square feet of simulation and collaboration space, students were to receive hands-on experience as they worked to become skilled clinicians who put patients first.
Last May, the campus celebrated the graduation of its first full class of four-year medical students and held its first commencement ceremony for pharmacy and physical therapy grads.
A few additional milestone Creighton anniversaries:
1926 (100 years ago): Creighton established its graduate school.
1941 (85 years ago): Billy Bluejay made his debut in the Creighton yearbook.
1961 (65 years ago): Gallagher Hall, Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library and the Eugene C. Eppley College of Business Administration Building all opened.
1971 (55 years ago): The College of Nursing became a freestanding college.
1991 (35 years ago): The Creighton baseball team made the College World Series. And the softball team played in the longest game in NCAA history. And the men's basketball team won its first NCAA Tournament game in nearly 20 years.
Read more about an unforgettable spring for Creighton Athletics.
2016 (10 years ago): Creighton broke ground on a new School of Dentistry Building.
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Interested in more important moments in Creighton history? Check out previous anniversary roundups from:
