Women Athletes from U. of Central Missouri to be Honored

Some long overdue recognition is coming soon to women athletes who blazed the trail for others at one of the state’s universities. The University of Central Missouri, the new name for Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, plans special recognition during Homecoming in October for those women who competed before the university awarded women letters. Associate Athletic Director, Kathy Anderson, says it will be a chance for the women to return to campus and swap stories about feats that she’s sure have grown over the years just as they do when men get together and talk about the glory days. Some of those stories, though, will be about more that the games. The university didn’t even officially recognize some women’s sports. Schedules often weren’t published. Statistics rarely were kept. Women wanting to play some sports in the 1960s and 1970s had to arrange their own transportation to get to games. Anderson says those women paved the way for her standout basketball, softball and track career. Anderson graduated in 1980, eight years after Title IX, which mandated women’s sports be put on an equal footing with men’s sports.