The University of Akron Athletics
Zips Athletics Honors Past And Present At Title IX Celebration
Follow Zips Athletics on Twitter
(@FollowTheRoo) and Facebook
Zips Athletics Title IX Central
| Video Interviews
Zips All-Time Top-40 Female Athletes
List | Zips All-Time Top-40 Female Athlete Bios
Photo Gallery
(Ernie Aranyosi)
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron
Department of Athletics celebrated the 40th anniversary of Title IX
with a special reception on the FirstMerit Foundation Club Level at
InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field Saturday.
The hour-long event, which was attended by more than 200 current
and former Zips female student-athletes, fans and family members,
paid tribute to the school's long and storied history of women's
sports that dates back more than 100 years.
After a brief welcome from Zips Director of Athletics Tom
Wistrcill, UA Vice President/Chief of Staff Candace Campbell
Jackson, head women's basketball coach Jodi Kest,
and two of the school's three individual national champions Jenna Compton (rifle) and Christi Smith (track & field) each shared stories
of how their lives have been impacted by the groundbreaking
legislation that was passed into law on June 23, 1972.
Multiple Emmy award-winning broadcaster and author, Connie Dieken
served as the event's emcee.
The celebration also served as an opportunity for UA's current
female student-athletes to meet some of the greatest women in Zips'
history as many of the school's top-40 honorees – as well as members of the top-10 – were in
attendance.
The Zips' history of female athletics dates back to 1889 with the
formation of the first tennis club and is highlighted by a number
of historic moments. Evelyn Hooker, who played on the men's golf
team, became the first UA female to earn a varsity letter in 1942,
and Jean Linton not only became the school's first female four-year
letterwinner in rifle, but also became Akron's first female athlete
to garner All-American honors, not once, but twice in 1961 and
1962.
In all, more than 1,300 female student-athletes have earned at least one letter at The University of Akron while 13 teams have captured Mid-American Conference Championships. Additionally, rifle – which is a co-ed sport – has won 12 league championships in its two disciplines during the last decade.
Akron currently sponsors 11 Division I female sports –
including basketball, cross country, golf, rifle, soccer, softball,
swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field,
and volleyball – and more than 180 female
student-athletes.
Video has no source Url
