Bob Justis

“H-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-re come the Panthers!” was Bob Justis’ iconic game-day line for five decades and over 900 football and men’s basketball games. 

Justis, who earned his bachelor’s degree in speech from UNI in 1974, later joined the university’s fundraising team and got his start pushing momentum toward a new first-of-its-kind venue in the state, something called the UNI-Dome. 

What began as a volunteer role announcing UNI football and men’s basketball games soon evolved into a full-time public address announcing career that continued for 50 years.

Justis was not only known for his iconic “Here come the Panthers” line as the team enters the arena but also for warning opposing fans that “a ferocious predator has been stalking the nation” and a tongue-in-cheek weather report that the UNI-Dome’s weather contains “no wind and no snow.”

The UNI Panthers is a family affair: Two years after Bob joined UNI, his wife Nancy began her own remarkable 30-year career in the university’s athletics media relations office. Their daughter, Nicole, also worked in UNI athletic communications as a student assistant. 

Bob’s work earned him multiple honors, including the UNI Alumni Association’s Service Award in 1988, G. Jon Hall Communication Studies Alumni Recognition Award in 2000 and the Missouri Valley Conference John Sanders Memorial Spirit of the Valley Award in 2025.

In 2024, Justis announced his retirement as PA announcer. “I had a joy doing it,” he told KWWL. “I met so many people — coaches, supporters, advertisers. This is my home and it has been my home for most of my life.”