Born in Borger, Texas, Bonness played high school football at Bellevue High School in Bellevue, Nebraska, a suburb south of Omaha. He graduated in 1972 and then received a scholarship to the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, the two-time defendingnational champions under head coach Bob Devaney. Bonness and played center for the Conrnhuskers on the offensive line under new head coach Tom Osborne.
↑2014 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners[dead link], National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 10 & 14 (2014). Retrieved December 26, 2014.
↑Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Rik Bonness. Retrieved December 26, 2014.