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Oracle, Oct. 13, 1992

Universities attempt to establish it and Ivy League schools market on it - tradition is what it is, and in the last 20 years, the USF women's athletic program has built its own. 1992 marks the 20th anniversary of women's athletics at USF, and the Bulls will attempt to celebrate by equaling some of their accomplishments of last year, when they tied the University of Louisville for the Metro Conference All-Sports Trophy and won conference titles in cross country and tennis.

The women's program was established at the Tampa campus in 1972, the same year that Title IX, a federal law that sought to raise women's athletics to the same level as men's, was instituted at colleges and high schools across the nation.

"Prior to title IX, I kept all of the tennis equipment in my office because we didn't even have any storage space, but once it was introduced things started to come together, coaches were hired to coach full-time instead of both coaching and teaching," said coordinator of women's athletics, JoAnne E. Young, who also served the USF community as a physical education professor for 28 years before retiring in 1989.

On July 3, 1972, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Joe Howell received a memorandum from Young, who was also the chairperson of the Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Committee, representing her panel's views on incorporating a women's program. It included a paragraph stating, "Each member (of the WIAC) strongly expressed the desire that this proposed program must not be funded or administered at the expense of the ongoing programs of intramurals and recreational sports that involve thousands of students as compared to possibly 30 or 40 women."

"The women's athletic program originally evolved around tennis on a low-funding, club-type basis," said Young, who described her positions ay USF as "a lot of work." Almost three months later, on Sept. 28, 1972, Oracle Sports Editor Ron Mumme informed the campus community "the university's Athletic Council and President Cecil Mackey have approved a program that will initiate women's intercollegiate athletics at USF."

It was the responsibility of the Athletic Council to develop its own operating procedures and submit them to the president of the university for approval. Specific duties that were aimed directly at the council included the recruitment of athletes, financial aid distribution, eligibility status, the scheduling of athletic events and annual budgets, the employment of coaches of intercollegiate sports. Also included was the compliance with policies and principles of the university, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the Sun Belt Conference, or any other agency or association having direct influence on intercollegiate athletics at the USF.

A few of these duties are now handled by the coach of each individual sport; however, the USF athletic department oversees much of what the council was assigned to in 1972.

"As senior women's administrator, my job is to be the liaison between USF and the NCAA or the Metro Conference on issue concerning women's athletics," said Associate Athletic Director Barbara Sparks-McGlinchy, who also noted that contrary to 20 years ago there is currently no formal Athletic Council supervising women's athletics. Because the NCAA did not offer a women's division, the Bulls joined the AIAW in 1975.

"It was enlightening to receive so much support both financially and supportive," said Young, describing how she felt during the early stages of the women's athletic program. The following year, the program became a charter member of he Sun Belt Conference, even though conference championships for women were not established until 1983, one year after the Bulls joined the NCAA.

In nearly a decade since USF joined the NCAA, it has progressed steadily by capturing at least one conference title each year since 1983. Recent USF squads have been especially successful; with two conference championships won in both the 1989-90 and 1991-92 seasons and a school record three conference titles between the fall of 1990 and the spring of 1991.

Currently, USF sponsors women's teams in all of the aforementioned sports, in addition to recently adding track and field to that list last year.

Re-printed with permission.