Olympic Trajectory
Title IX anniversary recalls women's athletic achievements.
This year, as colleges nationwide commemorate the 40th anniversary of Title IX legislation, San Diego State Athletics is celebrating its 13 women's sports teams and a coaching staff of national champions and Olympic athletes.
SDSU Olympians
Shelia Burrell, head track and field/cross country coach, finished fourth in Athens in the heptathlon, and was a five-time national champion in that event. Volleyball coach Deitre Collins-Parker, a two-time national collegiate player of the year, competed in the Seoul Games.
Stacey Nuveman Deniz, assistant head softball coach, won Olympic gold in 2000 and 2004 and silver in 2008. Carin Crawford, head water polo coach, worked to elevate women’s water polo to an Olympic sport in 2000. As a member of the U.S. national team from 1989 to 1992, she earned two gold medals, a silver and a bronze during four U.S. Olympic Festivals.
The success of these leaders, and that of current women student-athletes, can be traced directly to legislation known as Title IX.
Throughout 2012, SDSU Athletics will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Title IX, which significantly increased the representation of women in intercollegiate athletics.
Jenny Bramer, associate athletic director, has assembled a program of activities to create campus and community awareness of Title IX’s historic impact. They include: the selection of SDSU’s 40 best women athletes; a women’s sports weekend for alumni; seminars presented by university coaches and staff; and a call for artifacts associated with Aztec women’s athletics.
About Title IX
Title IX was introduced by Patsy Mink, the first woman of color to serve in Congress. The legislation never explicitly mentioned athletics, but its provisions—prohibiting gender discrimination in educational institutions receiving federal funds—were applied to sports programs, forever changing the complexion of intercollegiate athletics.
“Aztec Athletics enables young women to succeed as athletes and leaders,” Bramer said. “Our Title IX activities will connect SDSU women of all generations so that current students and recent graduates can learn from their predecessors.”
