Ivy League Sports

On an unseasonably warm day in February of 1997, the Silver Anniversary Working Group convened its inaugural meeting in the Donaldson Room at the University of Pennsylvania. Overlooking historic Franklin Field, representatives from the Ivy League office and from all eight Ivy institutions began to formulate ideas on how to commemorate twenty-five years of women’s championships in the League, and to consider the purpose and goals that would be inherent in acknowledging this landmark in Ivy history.

The group sought to design a series of projects and events to celebrate twenty five years of accomplishments and experiences of Ivy women’s athletics and women athletes, recognize the contributions of “pioneers”, and provide a historical context to the current status of women’s athletics in the Ivy League and nationally. An important objective they identified was to demonstrate progress to earlier alumnae and educate recent alumnae and current students on the “roots” of women’s sports.

The Council of Ivy Group Presidents — the body of Ivy presidents that oversees Ivy League athletics — committed substantial resources to this project, and a little more than two years later, the Ivy League Silver Anniversary Celebration culminated at the Brooklyn Marriott in New York City with a League-wide symposium, attended by more than 300 alumnae, friends and pioneers in women’s intercollegiate athletics. This capstone event wrapped up a year long celebration, during which each Ivy school held an institutional event on its campus. In addition the Ivy office committed to a large-scale historical research project that led to production of a pictorial traveling exhibit; “We Dared to Win,” a 25-minute video presentation on the history of Ivy League women’s championships; and “Silver Era, Golden Moments,” the historical record contained in these pages, written by sport historian Paula Welch.

Those resources first became apparent in tiny New Preston, Conn., in May of 1998. That weekend, the Ivy League crowned Brown University its 25th champion in its first championship sport, rowing, at the Eastern Association of Women’s Rowing Colleges Sprints. To kick off the celebratory year, the League hosted a reunion of Ivy League rowers at a local hotel

the night before the races, and a luncheon for alumni, parents, and friends on race day. At the a League-wide luncheon former Radcliffe rower and Olympic medalist Anna Seaton Huntington spoke, and the Ivy guests then walked down to the water to “enjoy” an afternoon of rowing in the steady downpour, choppy water, and muddy grounds. Ivy League executive director Jeff Orleans remembers the kickoff to the celebration.

“By the end of the day, we were cold, wet and pretty dirty,” said Orleans. “But as we watched and cheered our much colder, wetter and dirtier Ivy rowers, and as we felt their energy and enthusiasm at the awards ceremony in the Ivy tent, we knew we were beginning something rare and wonderful.”

Starting in the fall of 1998, each Ivy school took its turn celebrating its own history of Ivy women’s athletics in its own unique style. Six Ivy League presidents spoke during this series of commemorations, and tens of thousands of people enjoyed the opportunity to view the Ivy League Silver Anniversary Traveling Exhibit — 8' by 17.5' in size — and hear stories of the past and present.

Harvard hosted a day-long celebration, attended by nearly 300 people in late September. After panels and roundtable sessions during the day, and an afternoon filled with field hockey, soccer and volleyball action, Crimson alumnae and guests convened on that Saturday evening for a dinner filled with memorable moments.

Dartmouth held the first of its three events (one in each season) in October. Coinciding with the Big Green’s Homecoming weekend, guests met on Saturday morning for a brunch and then took to the fields to cheer on the home team in field hockey, soccer and volleyball action. Events in February and May focused on Dartmouth’s illustrious history in basketball and lacrosse.

Brown celebrated their event in conjunction with hosting the Ivy Volleyball Tournament, holding a dinner during which three alumnae, one from each of the last three decades, spoke to the gathering about their experiences.The next afternoon, the top-seeded Brown volleyball team took their home court and defeated Princeton for the Ivy volleyball championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Penn followed one weekend later, hosting its campus event on the floor of the legendary Palestra, in between the Friday-Sunday action of the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Tournament on the Franklin field. More than four hundred alumnae, guests and current student-athletes observed Pennsylvania’s own photographic timeline and honored the top women in the Quakers’ long tradition of success in women’s athletics.

Cornell and Princeton also held their campus celebrations on back-to-back weekends in conjunction with championship events. Cornell’s gathering was a two-day affair in mid-February during the Heptagonal Indoor Track and Field Championships. The hundreds of guests heard from Donna deVarona, the co-founder of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and other noteworthy speakers during the weekend, and had the opportunity to pose important questions and form coherent goals for the future.

The following weekend, Princeton hosted the Ivy League Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, and honored its alumnae and guests with nightly events and a video presentation. Princeton also held a pre-championship brunch for all of the current Ivy League swimming and diving student-athletes, and Olympian Cathy Corcione, a Tigers’ alumna and a co-founder of the women’s swimming team at Princeton, gave the keynote address.

In April. Yale had more than 300 alumnae and guests return to New Haven for a day-long celebration that began in the morning with a series of speeches and panels on a variety of topics. Following a luncheon at the Yale Bowl and an afternoon of women’s lacrosse, Yale hosted a dinner in Commons that included a keynote speech from Women’s Sports Foundation Executive Director Donna Lopiano, a 25-minute video presentation, and awarding of the Kiphuth Medal to former Director of Women’s Athletics, Joni Barnett, for service to the university.

Columbia provided the final event to the year long celebration. Columbia used the occasion of a mid-morning brunch to dedicate its new softball field, and guests then stayed to watch the Lions play New York University in the Columbia/Barnard consortium’s newest sport. The brunch included remembrances from All-American Diver Tina Steck, Barnard class of 1980, and All Ivy runner Devon Martin Sargent ’90C, with remarks by Barnard President Judith Shapiro, who threw out the first pitch on the new softball field.

The April Symposium built on the momentum of the campus events, and brought together all of the Ivy schools on Friday evening with a welcome reception at the Brooklyn Marriott. During the event, USA Today columnist and author Christine Brennan moderated a session entitled, “Friday Night Live,” during which one representative from each Ivy school, and from a variety of sports and eras, informally related her own athletic experience, and questions and comments from the audience were welcomed.

The celebration resumed the following morning with an introductory address from Pennsylvania President Judith Rodin, the first Ivy League woman president, and a series of historical speeches and representations from athletes, coaches and other contributors to the history of Ivy League women’s athletics. Following that session, the group of guests split into four different rooms to participate in interactive panel discussions on philanthropy, leadership, health and wellness, and grassroots athletic efforts. Next, the attendees reunited for a luncheon that included a keynote address from former Princeton associate athletic director Merrily Dean Baker, speeches from Columbia President George E. Rupp and Barnard President Judith Shapiro, and a video presentation of “We Dared to Win: How Ivy League Women Shattered Myths and Made History.”

Lunch was followed by two panels on the current climate of Ivy League women’s athletics, the first touching on issues of recruiting, admissions, financial aid and the second on the experiences of current student-athletes. Cornell Vice President Susan H. Murphy and Yale President Richard C. Levin concluded the formal events by highlighting what had been learned during the day and challenging the group of attendees to help preserve a positive athletic experience for Ivy League women in the future.

The Symposium provided a memorable experience for the more than 300 alumnae and guests present, all of whom departed on the evening of April 24 having learned of the past, considered the present, and laid the groundwork for the future. “The symposium generated in me an overwhelming sense of pride in being an Ivy League athlete,” said Dartmouth alumna Allison Greene, class of 1990. “Thank you for celebrating the past, present, and future of Ivy League women’s athletics.”

During the Symposium, the attendees heard from 61 speakers and panelists, each of whom related distinct pieces of history and messages of wisdom. Indeed, the two days represented for those 300 guests what tens of thousands of people had learned throughout the year-long celebration: the League that offers more athletic opportunities for more women in more sports and has done so for a longer period of time than any other intercollegiate league in the country, is proud of its storied history, and will go to great lengths to ensure the future remains bright.