NACWAA Heroes

Judy Sweet was Director of Athletics at the University of California, San Diego from 1975-1999, and one of the first women in the nation selected to direct a combined men's and women's athletics program. During that time, UCSD athletics teams won 26 NCAA National Championships and received the NACDA Directors Cup in 1998 for being the most successful athletics program in NCAA Division III.

Judy was elected to a two-year term as President of the NCAA in January 1991 and was Secretary-Treasurer of the NCAA from 1989 to 1991, becoming the first woman to serve in each of those positions. She was Division III Vice President, the presiding officer of that division, from 1986-88. In 2001, following her retirement from UC-San Diego, Sweet joined the NCAA as Vice President for Championships and Senior Woman Administrator in January 2001 and was promoted to Senior Vice President for Championships and Education Services in 2003. Judy retired from the NCAA in September 2006 and now does consulting work nationally for universities and organizations and serves as co-director of the Alliance of Women Coaches.

Judy is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and earned a master’s degree from the University of Arizona and an MBA from National University, San Diego.  Prior to her appointment at UC San Diego in 1973, she taught and coached at the University of Arizona and Tulane University.

Judy has served on various local, state, and national committees, including the Board of Directors of NACWAA (serving as president 2000-01) and NACDA, and the Board of Trustees for The United States Sports Academy. She was a member of the United States Olympic Committee's Task Force on Minorities and serves on the Board of Trustees of National University.  Her many honors include the W. S. Bailey Award as the nation's distinguished athletic administrator; the 1993 California State Senate District 39 Woman of the Year; and the Big Ten Conference Centennial Award. In 2006, Judy was named the first NACWAA Legacy Honoree and in 2007 she was named by the Institute for International Sport as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America. In 2009 Judy was inducted into the State of Wisconsin Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011 she was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame.

Established in her honor, the NACWAA Judith M. Sweet Commitment Award recognizes annually a mid-level athletics administrator who is committed to providing high-level leadership and guidance within intercollegiate athletics.

Dr. Mildred Barnes, who coached the Jennies for nine seasons (1971-80), is credited with laying the foundation that helped make the Jennies' basketball program one of the best in the nation. She never had a losing season in her nine-year career, compiling a 156-63 record and winning two AIAW state championships. Barnes retired from Central Missouri in 1991 as professor emeritus of physical education, following 22 years of service to the university.

Highly respected in women's basketball circles nationwide, Barnes became the first woman to serve on the board of trustees of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (1977-86) and was the only woman out of 50 trustees until the late 1980’s.

She wrote the first book on five-player women's basketball, served on the U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Committee as the chair and was instrumental in bringing the first U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team to Warrensburg to train prior to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

In addition to the Central Missouri Hall of Fame, she is in four others including the Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame (1994), the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2005), the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2000), and the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame (1978) where she was the first woman ever inducted.

As an athlete, she was a member of the U.S. National Lacrosse team and competed nationally in field hockey, tennis, and badminton. She was drafted by the women’s professional baseball league and was on the All-American Lacrosse Team 12 years in a row. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University, and her master’s and doctorate degrees from Surgent University.

Dr. Leanne Grotke-Andreasserved as Director of Athletics for Women and then as Associate Director of Athletics at California State University Fullerton when the men’s and women’s programs were combined. She served in the aforementioned positions from 1978-1991.

While at California State University Fullerton, Grotke-Andreas served on the Executive Administrative Committee of Athletics Department; supervised coaches of men’s and women’s athletic teams; administered Athletics Department championship competitions, fund raisers and special events; coordinated the hiring of all Athletics Department personnel; administered the athletics grant-in-aid program for all teams; and represented the Athletics Department in the Big West Conference and the NCAA.

Dr. Carla Lowry was a leader among women athletes, women coaches and women administrators. Although many women’s teams had to find their own way, those led by Lowry were certain to not get lost.

As an athlete, Lowry won two National Championships while she attended Wayland Baptist College and was a member of the famous Hutcherson Flying Queens team, which competed all over the country. She competed in the 1959 Pan American Games and represented the United States while competing in Russia and Sweden. For her athletic accomplishments, she was recognized as an All-American in 1961, inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Wayland Baptist University Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Upon completing her athletic playing career, she chose to continue her education at Texas Woman’s University, earning her master’s degree and Ph.D. For the next 20 years, Lowry taught and coached in several Texas universities and high schools. As an educator, Lowry was on the faculty of four different universities and a visiting lecturer at three universities. Whether it was the local country club or as a member of the NAIA Executive Committee, Lowry was a pioneer fighting the equality battle for women athletes.

Lowry may have shown her wisdom early on as a college administrator when she hired Coach Jody Conradt for a coaching job at the University of Texas, Arlington. Her wisdom and foresight continued as she was named the Chair of the Kinesiology Department, the Director of Athletics for both the men’s and women’s teams, and Associate Dean of Students at Southwestern University in 1984. Lowry was one of the very few women athletics administrators to run both a men’s and women’s athletic program in the state of Texas; she was a tremendous role model and leader for other women.

Dr. Joanna Davenport, a woman’s sports history scholar and former member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, was an associate professor and professor for 20 years at Auburn University, where she taught sports history and served as Women’s Athletic Director from 1976 until 1987.

She was the first visiting professor for physical education at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Education Council. Davenport received a bachelor’s degree from Skidmore College, a master’s degree from Smith College in Northampton, and a doctorate from The Ohio State University.

Davenport was passionate about sports history, particularly tennis, the modern Olympic Games, and the role of women in sports. She published numerous articles, book chapters, and reviews over the years and was working on a book about sports pioneer Eleanora R. Sears before she passed away.

Davenport was a member and leader in many organizations, including the National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education; the International Society of Olympic Historians; the North American Society for Sport History; the International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance; the Women’s Sports Foundation; the National Association for Sports and Physical Education; and the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports where she was past President.

She was an ardent tennis player and also remained involved with her alma mater, acting as Skidmore College Alumni class secretary for 37 years.

Jane Betts spent her entire career in education and sports, including secondary, collegiate, and Olympic levels. Jane earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education at Franklin College and her master’s at the University of Southern Mississippi, also in physical education.

Jane began her career as a public school teacher, and her collegiate career as a coach and administrator at Valparaiso University. With a move to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she spent more than 20 years developing one of the largest, if not the largest, Division III intercollegiate collegiate athletics program in the country with over 40 sports.

As the first executive director of NACWAA, Jane established two programs: the NACWAA/HERS Institute for Administrative Advancement and the NACWAA Volleyball Classic. She also was instrumental in helping the Board define goals and create programs for the Association.

After her tenure with NACWAA, she became the executive director of the USA Field Hockey Association. Jane has been national vice-president for Division III of the AIAW, co-director of the AIAW National Rowing Championship, and on the Board of Directors of the Collegiate Council for Women Athletics Administrators, the forerunner of NACWAA. She is currently a member of the NCAA Gymnastics Committee and, most recently, was named a member of the NCAA President’s Commission Liaison Committee.

Jane has delivered papers and speeches on both women’s athletics and athletic money management at numerous meetings and conventions, including two separate National Collegiate Directors of Athletics conventions.

Joan Parker is the only person in University of California at Los Angles women’s athletics history to span the continuum from participant to coach to administrator. Parker competed in three sports as a Cal undergraduate and coached five teams during her years on Cal’s physical education faculty.

Parker received three degrees from UCLA: Bachelor of Arts (’63), General Secondary Credential and Master of Arts.

In 1976, when the Department of Women’s Athletics was founded, she became its Assistant Athletics Director, then Associate Director. In 1983, Parker switched to fundraising and was named National Fundraiser of the Year in 1991 for her efforts with the Bear Backers. When the men’s and women’s departments merged in 1991, she became Executive Director of the Bear Backers.

A nationally recognized administrator who served on the Executive Board of the AIAW, Parker retired in 2001 as the executive director of the Bear Backers after 36 years of service to the university. “It’s been incredible to see how far women’s sports have come since I arrived here in 1959,” Parker said.

Dr. Marya Welch came to the University of California, Davis in 1947 after earning her doctorate in motor learning from Colombia University. She was the first woman hired in the Physical Education Department and the ninth woman hired on the UC Davis campus.

Welch was assigned the task of organizing all physical education classes and setting up the intramural and extramural sports programs for women. She was an active official and initiated officiating classes at UC Davis.

In addition to her coaching and teaching responsibilities, Welch was a member of several Division of Girls and Women in Sports Committees (NSW Speedball Committee, l950-54; NSWA California Basketball Chair, 1950-51; Central California Board of Women Officials, Chair, l947-51; NSWA Officials Ratings in swimming, softball, volleyball, basketball and tennis). This would be comparable today to being on the NCAA committees for those sports and being a rated official in all of the sports!

In 1949, Welch organized the Women's Athletic Association (WAA). This organization served as the primary administrative group for women's athletics at UC Davis and Northern California until l973.

As a founding member of the Extramural League of Northern California, Welch served as president and secretary during the l950s. She was the founder of the UC Davis Picnic Day.

Welch's activities were not limited to the Physical Education Department. On the UC Davis campus, she served as Dean Of Women (l952-54) and organized the Prytanean Honor Society for women. From 1942-46, Welch served in the US Navy Waves Division as an instructor in physical training, recreation, and welfare. She continued in the US Navy Reserves until her retirement as a Lieutenant Commander. Without her efforts and energy on the behalf of women in sports programs at UC Davis and in northern California, women's sports at UC Davis would not be where they are today. Dr. Welch is an inspiration and a person ahead of her time.

In 1960, Jeanette A. Lee, began coaching and teaching health and physical education at Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA. She received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina Central University and was 12 hours from obtaining her doctorate from Indiana University of Bloomington.

Initially, Lee’s mentor and collegiate coach/instructor, the legendary John B. McLendon, sent her to Saint Paul’s College, "to get a little experience and move on to bigger adventures". Lee had over 30 years of adventures at the liberal arts college, and her impact will last for many years to come and reach beyond the hills of Saint Paul’s College.

On the conference level, Lee played a strong leadership role in developing the Women's Athletic division of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Each year the CIAA recognizes the athletic director who exemplifies these qualities in his/her administration by giving them the Jeanette A. Lee Athletic Administrator of the Year Award.

Beyond athletics, Lee made her home available for students and served as a mentor to over 200 women who currently serve in leadership roles in athletics at both the secondary and collegiate levels. She was directly responsible for 55 women going on to pursue doctorates in their fields. Lee doggedly found scholarship and grant money to assist deserving young people to attend college. Although she passed away in 1992, Lee will be remembered for her words of wisdom and her courage to be first among the sea of men as a SHE-RO.

Dr. Janice Shelton was first named Assistant Athletic Director in 1974 at East Tennessee State Universityand continued there until her retirement in 1995.

In 1990, Shelton was named Athletics Director at East Tennessee State University, becoming the first female selected to the position at the school. At her hiring she was one of only six female Athletic Directors at NCAA Division I institutions in the country.

Shelton has held numerous titles, and has served on several boards and committees in an effort to support and advance women’s athletics. She was a member of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee for six years and served as chair to the Southern Conference for two years.

Ellen Perry retired from Pennsylvania State University in 2002 after a distinguished career spanning almost 40 years in teaching, coaching and athletics administration.

Perry was a member of the Nittany Lions’ athletic staff since 1966; she served as Associate Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator from 1989 until 2002. She had management oversight responsibilities over Penn State’s 14 women’s sports as well as Student-Athletes Services for the approximately 800 Nittany and Lady Lion student-athletes.

Perry is a past president of the Eastern Association for Physical Education of College Women and has previous experience as a member of the US Olympic Committee for Swimming. Perry was named the recipient of the 1995 Administrator of the Year award presented by the WBCA.

Carole Oglesby is a Professor Emeritus in sport psychology (2001) from Temple University and was Chairperson in Kinesiology at California State University Northridge from 2003-2009. As a sport psychology consultant, she has worked with Olympians and Pan American Games champions in rowing, cycling, paralympic cycling, and the USA Deaf Women’s volleyball team. To further her capacities, she earned PhDs in sport psychology (Purdue University, 1969) and counseling psychology (Temple University, 1999).

Oglesby was on the executive committee of the USA World University Games group, 1972-1992; US Olympic Committee House of Delegates, 1992-1996; and the USOC Sport Psychology Registry for 12 years. She has presented papers and conducted training and leadership workshops in 31 countries; published pioneering works Women and Sport: Myth to Reality, Black Women and Sport, and Encyclopedia of Women and Sport in America.

Oglesby is a past President of WomenSport International, executive committee member of the International Working Group for Women and Sport, principal contributor to UN-DAW monograph Women2000 and Beyond: Women, Gender Equality and Sport.

Oglesby competed in national level softball championships in 1962, 1963 and 1965, and coached teams from Purdue University and the University of Massachusetts to the College World Series. She is a recipient of the Women’s Sports Foundation Billie Jean King award and the AAHPERD R. Tait McKinzie award.

Dr. Laurie Mabry led Illinois State's women's sports from a low-profile women's recreation association to a major national program as Director of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics from 1960-80.

She was the Women's Athletics Director when Illinois State hosted the first women's basketball national tournament in 1972. Mabry also was a Professor of Physical Education at Illinois State, retiring in 1985.

Mabry served as president of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the national governing body for college women's athletics, from 1975-76. She was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors Hall of Fame and the Women's Institute on Sport and Education Hall of Fame.

Dorothy Jean Alston retired from North Carolina A&T University (A&T) as Special Assistant to the Chancellor in 1999 after serving the state of North Carolina for 34 years, 28 of which were spent at A&T. She was responsible for the Administrative Information System facet of the university's computer center, the institutional research and planning office, internal auditing, EPA salary administration, the university registrar, and admissions and enrollment management. She also served as the chancellor's Division Liaison to the Athletics Department and as the Senior Athletics Woman Administrator.

During her career, Alston served as Special Assistant and as Project Director for a Title III grant to establish and expand a campus-wide broadband communications network system, and as director for Title IX and a Professor of Physical Education at A&T.

Prior to her work at A&T, she was an Assistant Professor and an instructor of Physical Education at Fayetteville State University, and a teacher at John M. Langston High School in Danville, VA, and C.F. Pope High School in Burgaw, NC.

Among numerous awards and honors, Alston is an inductee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Sports Hall of Fame. She has participated in numerous national, professional activities involving higher education research, and she has served in leadership roles for many civic and professional groups.

Alston completed her undergraduate work at A&T, and her master’s and doctorate degrees at North Carolina Central University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, respectively. She has other professional development experiences at Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Pearl Kowalski was a graduate of East Stroudsburg University and majored in Health and Physical Education. Kowalski then received her master’s degree and doctorate from Temple University in Philadelphia also specializing in Physical Education.

Kowalskihad been a resident of Gloucester City for 50 years. She taught Physical Education and coached field hockey and girls’ basketball for Gloucester City School District, Audubon School District and Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). Kowalskiwas named to the Rowan University and East Stroudsburg University Hall of Fame.

Kowalski served on the board of the New Jersey Education Association, National Education Association, National Coaches Association and currently serves as a First Vice President of the New Jersey Retired Educators Association.

Throughout her life, Kowalski loved to play tennis. Kowalski also served as a referee for field hockey and basketball.

Dr. Karol Kahrs retired from the University of Illinois after serving as Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Associate Director of Athletics for Development.

Kahrs began her career at the University of Illinois in 1966 as an instructor in the College of Physical Education and coordinated the Women’s Extramural Sports Association before being named Assistant Athletics Director in 1974 and Associate Athletic Director in 1985. She served as Senior Woman Administrator until 1998 and as interim Director of Athletics in 1988.

Kahrs has been a member of numerous committees, including the NCAA Cost Containment Committee and the NACDA Executive Committee. She served on the Executive Board of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Kahrs also served as basketball, volleyball and softball coach during her collegiate coaching career.

Kahrs’ honors include: National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrator, NACWAA District IV Administrator of the Year Award, University of Georgia’s Distinguished Alumni Award; and All-American Football Foundation’s Outstanding Senior Associate Athletic Director Award. In 2006, Kahrs was inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame. Kahrs is a past President of NACWAA.

Dr. Virginia Hunt, Associate Professor of Physical Education and Adult and Higher Education, served as Director of Women’s Athletics at Montana State University; Associate Athletics Director for Women at the University of Michigan; and Women’s Athletics Director of the College of Wooster.

Along with her administrative duties, Hunt coached field hockey and volleyball, and was an active official in both sports. She also served as Secretary and Chair of the Affiliated Board of Officials. Additionally, Hunt served on the Eligibility Committee of the United State Olympic Committee, and was chair of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Ethics Eligibility Committee.

Hunt was active in the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports and was on their Board of Directors. Hunt was instrumental in forming the Mountain West Athletic Conference and active in the Women’s Committee of the Big Sky Conference. She also was president of the AIAW.

Della Durant served as Assistant Director of Athletics and Associate Professor for Physical Education at Pennsylvania State University. In 1964, she became the first coordinator of the women’s varsity program. Durant is credited with laying the foundations for the highly successful Pennsylvania State Women’s Athletics Program.

Durant’s passion for the advancement of women in athletics led her to serve on numerous AIAW and NCAA Committees, including the NCAA Council and NCAA Eligibility Committee. Durant also served as Chair of the NCAA Women’s Fencing Committee.

Durant is a member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame and was awarded the Katherine Ley Award in 1989 for her commitment to the expansion of opportunities for women in athletics.

Dr. Maria Sexton was an influential leader in national and international efforts to provide equal opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics. During the 1950s and 1960s, she helped bridge the gap between the Amateur Athletic Union and women physical educators by consulting on various aspects of women's athletics.

She also served as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committees for track and field (1964-72) and basketball (1972-76). In addition, she managed the U.S. women's track and field team at the 1967 Pan American Games, and served as the only female member of the World University Games Committee (1967-71). She was active in the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, and served as Vice President of its Ohio affiliate.

Sexton completed her bachelor of science degree in physical education at Western Michigan University in 1942, and spent the next seven years as an elementary and high school teacher. She earned her master of arts degree at Ball State Teachers College in 1951 and her Ed.D. at Teachers College (Columbia University) in 1953.

Known affectionately as "Doc," Sexton championed equal opportunities for women in college athletics at Wooster and beyond, and she laid the groundwork for women's varsity sports at Wooster, helping to establish field hockey and basketball.

The recipient of numerous awards and citations for her efforts to advance collegiate sports for women, including the 1982 Presidential Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women's Sports and the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award of NACWAA, Sexton was a member of four halls of fame, including the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 2001, the first woman in Wayne County to be so honored. In 2005, she received an honorary doctor of laws degree from The College of Wooster.

Mary Roby played a prominent and historic role in the development of women’s athletics at the University of Arizona. Her leadership provided the primary force behind the transition from an intramural and club program to a nationally successful intercollegiate athletic program for women.

A Wildcat athlete during her undergraduate years at the University of Arizona in 1944-48, Roby returned to her alma mater as a member of the faculty in 1959. In addition to teaching duties, Roby directed the Women’s Recreation Association program until 1972, when she became Arizona’s first Director of Athletics for Women. In 1982, with the merger of men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletic programs, her appointment as the first female Associate Director of Athletics at the University of Arizona initiated a new era for women in athletic administration.

Roby was a founding member of the Council of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, now called NACWAA. Her contributions for women in sport were acknowledged by NACWAA when they awarded her their "Lifetime Achievement Award."

With an M.S. from Smith College and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, Roby was a key member of the teaching faculty in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences. During her years as a professor, she received Honor Awards from the Arizona Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; the Southwest Chapter of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; and the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

A mentor and a leader in her field, Dr. Charlotte West retired as Associate Athletics Director at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale(SIU) in 1998 but left a legacy as one of the nation's pioneers in women's collegiate athletics. She served as a coach, faculty member and an administrator during her 42-year tenure.

West began her service to SIU in 1957 as a coach and instructor in the Department of Physical Education. In 1973, she became a full professor and developed SIU's graduate program in sports management, which she directed until 1991.

West earned regional and national acclaim for her work in the governance of intercollegiate athletics, including President of the American Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, first woman member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors and a five-year stint on the NCAA Council.

The first recipient of the Woman Administrator of the Year Award from the NACWAA, West also was named the first recipient of the Honda Award, a national honor given for outstanding achievement in women's collegiate athletics.

In all, West coached five sports from 1957 to 1975 at SIU, and her basketball compiled a 113-51 slate in 12 seasons.

West received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physical education from Florida State University, a master's degree in physical education and dance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and a doctorate in physical education with a minor in educational measurement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A commitment to quality and equality in women’s athletics is the legacy of Dr. Leotus “Lee” Morrison from her career in athletics as a James Madison University (JMU) coach and administrator. In addition to her impact on women's college sports nationwide, she is credited with the development of James Madison University’s Women’s Athletic Program, including the establishment of 12 teams.
 
A native of Savannah, GA, Morrison joined the JMU faculty in 1954 and became associate athletic director in 1971. She coached the JMU field hockey team for 17 years prior to her retirement from coaching in 1977.

Morrison played an instrumental role in the formation of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the original governing body for college women’s athletics in the U.S. She was a member of the founding board of the AIAW and one of its early presidents. 
 
Morrison’s efforts on behalf of women athletes were recognized in 1985 when she was presented the Katherine Ley Award by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. In 1984, she received the Honor Fellow Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS), an organization for which she formerly served as President. The NAGWS award cited her as a “leader, teacher, humanitarian…to whom people owe a great debt of gratitude for her contributions to girls and women in sports.”
 
Morrison’s other significant accomplishments include her membership to the United States Field Hockey Association and the American Council on Education. She also initiated the development of and was the first President of the South Atlantic Field Hockey-Lacrosse Conference, an affiliate conference of the NCAA. In 1990, JMU awarded Dr. Morrison the Doctor of Humanities Degree in recognition of her distinguished career.

Dr. Mary Rice was a pioneer in the advancement of women’s athletics. She served as a Professor of Physical Education and Director of Women’s Athletics at Glassboro State College (Rowan University).

Rice was the AIAW Division III Commissioner and the EAIAW Chairperson for Field Hockey. Rice also chaired the NJAIAW Ethics and Eligibility Committee and Lacrosse Committee.

For her contributions to Rowan University athletics, the Dr. Mary Rice Award was established to honor a female student-athlete who demonstrates excellence in skills, attitude and dedication.