June 27, 2017
Next to granting women the right to vote, I believe the implementation of Title IX in 1972 is the most important piece of federal legislation for women ever to be embraced. Title IX changed the world of sports and athletics more dramatically than any of us could have imagined 45 years ago. It simply reads:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
I'm what you call a "pre-Title IX" athlete. There was no AAU basketball for girls or the opportunity to go to sports camps. My generation didn't get to compete in sports in elementary school and middle school and there weren't organized sports for girls for most of my high school years. However, my advantage was growing up with four brothers. I learned to compete by competing against them.
Like many of our current San Jose State student-athletes, I came from a family with limited resources, but was a first-generation college graduate. I was the leading scorer on the basketball team for three years in a row and played field hockey at Central Michigan University. In 1990, Central Michigan inducted me into its sports hall of fame as its third female inductee ever.
Being a collegiate athlete was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Though I didn't receive one penny of a scholarship based upon my athletics ability, I loved every second being a student-athlete. In fact, I didn't finish repaying my school loans until I was 33-years old. To this day, I still consider myself an athlete.
There has never been a better time to be a female student-athlete than today, but our work is not done. We can be proud of San José State's national championships and national champions in women's golf, women's fencing and women's judo; our female Olympians in fencing, judo, swimming, water polo, track and field; and much more. There is still much we need to do to make certain our young girls and women reap the virtues and benefits of sport.
I have publicly stated that this athletics program "goes the way football goes." That statement does not discredit our responsibility and obligation to provide equitable opportunities for our women student-athletes. We will continue to move all our programs forward. I strongly believe when football wins, everyone wins!
Make no mistake -- this is one team here. I am fully aware of the enormous responsibility to ensure our women and men compete in an equitable and fair environment. It's the right thing to do, not because the law tells us do so.
Happy birthday, Title IX. I will raise a glass to the thousands and thousands of women that have benefited from this wonderful enterprise called "sport." I'm honored to be a part of the San José State University Athletics program and to work daily with the young men and women who are our student-athletes.
Spartan Up, Spartan Strong, Let's Go!