STORIES FROM THE STEPS, VOLUME 1, CHRONICLE 27, Title IX:

No man need be a mediocrity if he accepts himself as God made him.” ~Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh~

I equate Miss Julie with this line. She answered her call long ago & avoided mediocrity. She answered at a time girls weren’t as equal as boys. So unequal that girls played basketball with only 3 on each side of the court for fear the full court game would be too strenuous. Without her answer & those of others, there’d be no WNBA or NWSL & some girls that swam for Miss Julie wouldn’t have had collegiate opportunities. At least twice weekly, I get the opportunity to work with 50 or so middle & high school students. Among them, a handful of young women that participate in sport for their school & club teams. Today is the 52nd anniversary of Title IX, I hope these women realize the debt they owe to pioneers like Pat Summitt, & before her, Babe Didrickson, Althea Gibson, Wilma Rudolph, & Billie Jean King & the Virginia Slims 9 that answered their call. As Papa to two granddaughters, I know they will be introduced. Under her maiden name, Pat Head, Summitt coached her first college basketball game in 1974. The NCAA didn’t recognize women’s athletics & ladies participated in the oft forgotten AIAW, the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. That first game ended in a loss for the University of Tennessee against Mercer University. For a salary of $250 a month, Pat Summitt coached, drove the team van, and washed and dried the team uniforms. In addition to those roles, by 1976 she had earned her Masters degree & a silver medal in basketball at the Montreal Olympics. The paid attendance in Macon, Georgia that day in ’74 matched her age, 22. In spite of the auspicious start, she stuck with it. Persevering to the tune of 1,098 career victories (one of only 4 NCAA coaches, men or women, to record over 1,000 wins), 8 national championships, & sellout crowds of 21,000 on a floor that bears her name. In addition to on court success, every Lady Vol during her tenure received their diploma. Title IX brought opportunities & level playing fields for females, for my granddaughters, in more arenas than sport &  Miss Julie, Pat Summitt & others showed them how to avoid mediocrity…