ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Former Lobo football player Katie Hnida is returning to the campus where she made history to speak to University of New Mexico junior and senior Student-Athletes as part of UNM’s Lobo Leadership Instititute. Hnida will be speaking to the juniors and seniors on Wednesday, October 22 and 7 p.m.
It was a little over 11 years ago that Katie Hnida became the first female to score a point in an FBS football game when she kicked a pair of extra points against Texas State in a 72-8 victory for the Lobos. Her uniform and appropriately, her kicking shoes are now on display at the College Football Hall of Fame. Hnida the previous season became the first female to play in bowl game when she saw time at kicker in the 2002 Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA.
She came to New Mexico after starting her career at Colorado, where she dressed out for games but never saw action. She would go on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from UNM with a degree in Psychology.
Said Katie, who most recently was back in Albuquerque in July for the Lobo Women’s Football Clinic, “I’m always happy when I get to come to UNM, but I am extra excited about getting to speak at the Lobo Leadership Institute this year. It’s an honor to be invited and I look forward to getting to connect with our current student athletes. Lobos are family!”
Hnida, who now resides on the East Coast, is a highly regarded public speaker who works with many organizations that work to combat violence against women, including The Voices and Faces Project, The Joyful Heart Foundation and Counter Quo. She also has been on numerous television and news programs, including Larry King Live, The Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning and ESPN, as well as national magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Glamour, P{eople, The New York Times, USA Today and the Washington Post.
This is the fifth year of the Lobo Leadership Insititute. Previous speakers have been Paul Simson in 2009, Shane Evangelist in 2010, Hank Baskett in 2012 and Mayor Richard Berry in 2013. The Lobos for Life program hosts former student-athletes, who have achieved professional success, on campus to speak with upperclassmen on making a successful transition to the world of work.