Ever since women started arriving on college campuses, their desire to play sports does not shy away from male participation, although many women did not participate as it was unbecoming of them to partake in such vigorous activities. (pink think!) Most sports teams were left to the boys on campus while the women students watched and supported.
“Women’s athletics, first initiated in the oldest women’s colleges, became routine. Yet they did not inspire the same fervor they had from the pioneers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Athletic competition in team sports did not have as much appeal for women as for men, nor women’s sports receive the same kind of public attention. Still, intercollegiate tennis, field hockey, swimming, and basketball had moderate vogues, with the approval and encouragement of educators who saw organized sports as safe outlets for their charges” (Solomon 164)
Women’s sports have always had a place at William and Mary. A couple of the first active teams upon our campus were basketball and fencing. Because the school didn’t provide funding or participated in any conference involving school sports, many of the female students on campus formed their own teams and played against each other. One of the infamous, if not most remembered, female athlete on our campus is Martha Barksdale. Martha participated in the women’s basketball program and was known around campus as one of the best players around, even easing up her game at times to let other teams win! Martha would go on later to coach women’s sports at William and Mary and has a sports field off of Jamestown road named after her, Barksdale Field. (Go visit and see the monument!)
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The next big step in women’s sports was the enactment of Title Nine, an amendment that made it mandatory for public universities to provide equal funding and/or opportunity for women’s sports on campus as men’s sports. William and Mary, being a public school, acted in this new law and the students saw its first swimming, gymnastics, softball, etc. sports programs for women. My mom even played on the first women’s volleyball team at William and Mary in the fall of 1976, her freshman year! This opportunity opened many doors for women’s rights and have taken many women into sports careers becoming famous and making millions.
Women’s sports have continued to develop in society and have become a common place among today’s customs. Any school or university in our country that has men’s sports teams have women’s teams and give the appropriate funding to them. Many girls participate in sports at a young age and have made active lifestyles popular American culture. Recently, we’ve also seen many popular films involving women athletes, such as “Love and Basketball”, “Stick It”, and “Million Dollar Baby”; making sports all more common among girls today. Women’s sports play a large, positive role on our campus now and I hope it continues to do so!
-Laura Condyles
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