Many athletes, coaches, and administrators were pioneers at The College of Wooster in affording opportunities for women’s student-athletes both before and long after the passing of Title IX in 1972. The W Association has selected all women who were part of an athletic team at the College during the 1972-73 academic year, the first after the passing of Title IX, as its Distinguished Award of Excellence honoree this year.
Records, Wooster Voice archives, and consultation with two of the pioneers – W Association Hall of Famers Brenda Meese ’75 and Patricia Vittum ’74 – indicate basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball were all sports for women at the College for the 1972-73 academic year. Basketball, field hockey, tennis, and volleyball had varsity status prior to Title IX being signed into law. Lacrosse and swimming and diving were two women’s intercollegiate teams competing during the 1972-73 academic year that were soon elevated to varsity status. At the time, the two intercollegiate women’s teams were funded entirely by the Women’s Recreation Association, which changed its name to the Women’s Athletic Association during the 1973 spring semester. All students and advisors of the Women’s Recreation Association/Women’s Athletic Association for the 1972-73 academic year are also being honored by the W Association’s Distinguished Award of Excellence for their instrumental contributions and support of the College’s women’s athletic teams.
On an individual level, W Association Hall of Famers Lois Drinkwater Thompson ’73, a member of the 1968 United States Olympic Team, and Nancy Shafer ’73, a two-time Olympic alternate, who set the American indoor record in the half mile with a time of 2:07.2, plus Patricia Skelley Kuhn ’73, competed as individuals in track and field under the watchful eye of Bob Lafferty, who coached the standout trio. Wooster’s women track and field standouts are also honored as part of the Distinguished Award of Excellence.
Per a quote in the Wooster Voice attributed to legendary coach, administrator, and W Association Hall of Famer Maria Sexton, the College budgeted just $2,500 on women’s athletics at the time, a total “less than the men spend on awards.” Robert Craig-Comin ’74 “greatly aided in organizing” a group which submitted a proposal on athletic budget reforms to the Faculty Athletic Committee during the 1972-73 academic year, per a Wooster Voice article in late January. The advocacy of many – students, faculty, and staff alike – paid off, with a letter to the editor in the June 8, 1973 Wooster Voice indicating a 150 percent increase in the women’s varsity athletics budget. Basketball, field hockey, tennis, and volleyball were granted a 75 percent increase, lacrosse and swimming and diving were elevated to varsity status for the 1973-74 academic year, and tennis became a fully-funded sport by the Physical Education Department after three years of shared support between the department and the Women’s Recreation Association.
Other standout women’s athletes who were students at Wooster during the 1972-73 academic year and are members of the W Association Hall of Fame are Alpha Alexander ’75, Annie Baird Frick ’74, Marion Mason Strandh ’73, Marjorie Nesbitt Forbush ’76, and Melinda Weaver ’75. Additional women’s W Association Hall of Famers from that year include Virginia Hunt, Nan Nichols, and Sexton, who are among the pioneers of the era for elevating and promoting women’s sports on a national level as coaches and administrators.
To learn more about the history of women’s athletics at the College, please visit the outstanding Women in Sport and Physical Education at The College of Wooster digital exhibit by Meese and Julia Gustafson, with assistance from Women and Sport classes and Women’s Athletic and Recreation Association (WARA) at woosterwomeninsport.ohio5.org/exhibits.