Celebrating Title IX

Wednesday, February 01, 2023 | By: WIU Athletic Communications

37 words changed college athletics forever.

Working in sports is hard - doing so as a female, even harder. In an industry historically dominated by males, it's more important than ever to continue pushing for more girls and women to participate in sport.

However, to understand where we're at right now, it's important to understand where we started.

The last 50 years have been crucial to the development of support for women in college athletics. Kathy Orban, former Western Illinois Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance and Senior Woman Administrator (SWA), started her career in athletics as a student athlete at Eastern Illinois where she was forced to share uniforms and bus trips were a big deal.

Then came a law that changed everything. A 37-word piece of legislation stated that "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."

President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law in June of 1972.

"Thank God for Title IX. There was a line drawn in the sand where the women said 'wait a minute, this isn't right,'" Orban said. "Athletic departments and administration saw the value in providing resources for a female student athlete to have good coaching, a safe environment to play and participate in, uniforms that they could feel proud of representing their school, the financial aid and the athletic training support that they need."

The immediate years after weren't always easy. When Orban was hired as an assistant field hockey coach at Western Illinois in 1980, things were slightly better but still not where they needed to be.

"We were doing better as far as uniforms but our travel was still pretty limited, and our women's basketball team only had two-thirds of the scholarships that other schools in the Gateway Conference had," Orban said. "It was not easy and I applaud our coaches who had to suffer through that, not having all the resources. That happened in many of our programs – we were never fully funded for a long period of time in many of the sports."

Through the work of people like Dr. Marion Blackinton, Dr. Helen Smiley and influential female leaders all across the Gateway Conference, the resources available for women within athletics have drastically improved in the past 50 years. As resources improve, one thing that can not be forgotten about is the importance of mentorship.

For Piper Foote, a senior captain on the Western Illinois softball team, it was the mentorship she received as a freshman that played a pivotal role in her development both as a student and as an athlete.

"As a freshman I came on to campus not really knowing what's what and I was fortunate enough to have a mentor from day one in Ashley Minyard. She took me in, showed me the ropes and helped me see that, although softball is what I love to do, there are also ways I can grow as a person beyond athletics," Foote said. "I think that's a special piece that mentorship can bring to the table, especially for female athletes. She broadened my horizons and got me thinking, 'I do belong wherever I'm at,' which helped me become the person and leader that I am today.

"I think it's really important to have females know that they do have support," Foote added. "It's always important to have somebody there for you to celebrate with you in the good times and the bad."

As important as mentorship is in the student athlete experience, having that mentorship come from other females is something that Western Illinois women's soccer head coach Josee Primeau says is just as important. Primeau, who came to WIU in 2016, started as a graduate assistant and has worked her way through the ranks as the team's assistant coach, associate head coach, and just completed her first season as the head coach.

"I remember exactly where I was mentally walking on to campus for the first time as a freshman, meeting the rest of the team, showing up on day one of preseason, even playing in my first collegiate game," Primeau said. "Think about our softball program. Coach Goler played professionally for years - having that knowledge to tap into and to give back to the team is invaluable."

So, with female-to-female mentorship proving invaluable to women within college athletics, the question may arise: "What are you doing to do in order to provide women in athletics the opportunity to be mentored?"

After Paul A. Bubb was announced as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics on June 22^nd, 2022, one of the first things he did was work to create a group of women in leadership positions around the Macomb community to offer mentorship opportunities to women within Western Illinois Athletics.

According to Beth Wilson, WIU's Assistant Athletic Director for Academics and Student Athlete Development, who is involved with the Women in Leadership group, this group is dedicated to impacting female student athletes around Western Illinois Athletics.

"Our Women in Leadership Group consists of women of different ages and experiences. We have been assigned to create our event for the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and National Girls and Women in Sports Day, but I know it will transition into more than just that," Wilson said. "Some of the women in the group have worked in athletics for most of their life and are dedicated to educating and impacting our young women… Our members will serve as mentors and provide their perspective of how we can continue to evolve into giving young females a voice and confidence to break through barriers."

The group has taken a leading role in organizing an event that celebrates the history of women within WIU Athletics and the impact of Title IX, with a luncheon and several sessions led by women who have played a vital role in the development of women's athletics at Western Illinois, scheduled for February 3-4.

"That's what this upcoming event is for," Orban, who is part of the Women in Leadership group, said. "Let's look back to see where we were in the past, where we are now and appreciate those who fought the fight because believe me, there were times it was pretty tough."

With a group dedicated to mentorship and upcoming event aimed at understanding the historical struggles of women in athletics, Foote had just one thing to say to those who came before: "thank you."

"All I can say is thank you. As a child my dream was always to become a college athlete and because of them I've been able to do that. Without all of their effort and struggle, I couldn't possibly be in the place that I am today," Foote said. "It's important for us to keep fighting so that in the future all the other girls who have the same dream that I did can come up and never feel like there was ever a dispute between whether women should be in sports or not."

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