DENVER (Apr. 24) -- Beginning in September 1999 and continuing through the spring of 2000, the University of Denver is celebrating 25 years of women's intercollegiate varsity competition.
Since 1974, when the University offered its first varsity competition for women, the Pioneers have crowned seven individual NCAA champions and 60 all-Americans as well as captured two national championships in gymnastics.
As the Pioneers celebrate 25 years of women's participation in athletics, it also honors the women who were intent on creating a place for themselves in sports. Those women dedicated themselves to ensuring that those who followed them would have opportunities to compete at the highest levels. Women athletes at Denver would not be where they are today if it were not for the efforts of these true "Pioneers" and the determined athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters who followed them.
Beginning in 1928 when Genevieve Robinson, a member of Denver's ski club, won the Colorado women's ski championship, to 1946 when Barbara Kidder captured the intercollegiate individual ski championship, to 1982 when the gymnasts captured the school's first women's team national championship to the 1990s when four skiers captured NCAA Division I national crowns, the progress for women in sports at the University has been remarkable. Denver continues to be a national leader in gender equity and its female student-athletes continue to excel both athletically and academically.
Today, because of the effort and hard work of many, the University of Denver sponsors 10 women's varsity sports programs: basketball, cross country running, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, and volleyball. Currently, more than 140 women compete at the NCAA Division I level and each program has competitive budgets and staffing with similar men's programs.
As a part of the year-long celebration, the Silver Anniversary Committee hosted a fall speaker series and a winter film festival. The speaker series featured numerous University of Denver faculty, including former intercollegiate athletes Paula Nesbitt (Oregon - skiing), Cathy Reed (Michigan - synchronized swimming), Sheila Schroeder (Valparaiso - basketball), and Jennie Whitcomb (Stanford - crew). Schroeder also was the coordinator of the winter film festival. Audiences were treated to a showing of the HBO feature "Dare to Compete" and a first time showing in Colorado of "A Hero for Daisy". Both films displayed a moving portrayal of the issues in women's athletics over the past 25 to 50 years.
The celebration will culminate with a weekend of festivities at the Daniel L. Ritchie Center on May 12-13. Alumnae, family and friends are invited back to campus to catch up with old friends and experience the new Ritchie Center. Friday's activities include a golf outing and barbeque. Several speakers will be featured on Saturday, including a variety of alumnae, former administrators and coaches, and current coaches and athletes. Special guest speakers include former NCAA president Judy Sweet, University of Iowa women's athletics director Christine Grant and sports historian Paula Welch. The celebration finale will be an honors reception and dinner presenting the University of Denver Silver Anniversary Team on Saturday night.
University of Denver Silver Anniversary Team
For the culmination of the University of Denver's year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Pioneer women's athletics, 18 former Denver athletes will be honored on Saturday, May 13, at a banquet recognizing the accomplishments of Pioneer women athletes during the past 25 years. Nine of Denver's varsity women's sport programs are represented on the 25th anniversary team.
Included on the list of honorees is a four-time gymnastics all-American, the Pioneers' all-time leading scorers in basketball and soccer, two tennis all-Americans, and two skiing national champions. Also on the list are two members of the Denver field hockey program, which was discontinued in 1983.
THE TEAM
Karen Beer Cannon - gymnastics (1981-84)
Lenee Berumen Koch - gymnastics (1993-96)
Carol Doyas - swimming & diving (1979-81)
Sara Fadenrecht - basketball (1994-98)
Colleen Garrity - lacrosse (1995-98)
Caryn Honig - tennis (1984-87)
Allison Hope - tennis (1984-87)
Annie Hoskinson - field hockey/basketball (1974-75)
Barbara Kidder - skiing (1946)
Beth Kuwata - volleyball (1984-87)
Lorna Lyles - volleyball (1990-93)
Barbara Mangan De Laney - field hockey/tennis (1978-81)
Gemma McDonald - lacrosse (1997-99)
Megan McMorrow - swimming & diving (1987-91)
Roberta Pergher - skiing (1996-98)
Linda Raunig - basketball (1976-80)
Deshaune Running - soccer (1993-96)
Annette Wagner - soccer (1989-92)
May 12-13, 2000 - Featured Speaker biographies
Dr. Paula Welch is a professor of Exercise and Sports Sciences at the University of Florida. She completed degrees at Florida State University, George Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Welch's research focuses upon the history of women in sport, the Olympic games, and sport governance. In addition to numerous articles and several presentations, she serves as Vice Chair of the Education Committee of the United States Olympic Committee. She has also served as Chair of the History of Sport and Physical Education Academy of the National Association of Sport and Physical Education.
Dr. Christine H.B. Grant is currently the women's athletics director at The University of Iowa. A native of Scotland, Dr. Grant has served as the past president of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA). She currently chairs the NCAA Cabinet Subcommittee on Amateurism and is recognized as a national leader in women's athletics.
Judith Sweet is currently a faculty member at the University of California, San Diego, after serving as Director of Athletics for 24 years. Sweet was the first female president of the NCAA and now president-elect of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA). She is considered an expert on Title IX and gender equity and has served on numerous NCAA committees and the NCAA Governing Council.
Barbara Schroeder is currently the director of athletics at Regis University. Schroeder's position as Regis University's athletic director has given her the distinction of being Colorado's first female collegiate athletic director - a position that gained her recognition as the Dorothy Mauk Pioneer Award winner at the 1998 Sportswomen of Colorado banquet. In January 1998, she was elected vice-chair of the NCAA Division II Management Council. Prior to the restructuring of the NCAA, she was a member of the NCAA council - the governing board of the entire association.
Joan McDermott is currently the athletic director at Metropolitan State College. On Dec. 21, 1998, McDermott became the third woman in the state of Colorado to oversee an intercollegiate athletics program. McDermott coached Metro State's volleyball team for five years, and was the senior women's administrator for three years. In 17 years as a head coach, her teams posted 20 or more wins 11 times, 30 or more five times, and earned eight postseason appearances.
