Ivy League Sports

During the early 1970s, Barnard’s intercollegiate athletic teams continued as an outgrowth of advanced physical education courses. Instructors who taught tennis, basketball, fencing, swimming, archery, and volleyball also coached intercollegiate teams in those sports, though for no extra compensation. Crew, sailing, and horseback riding operated as club sports, separate from the physical education department. Though Barnard athletes had occasional access to Columbia coaches and facilities, the program itself functioned independently in the days before Columbia College began admitting women students.

Until 1974, budget constraints restricted Barnard’s competitions to the New York City area, with most contests held on campus. That year, however, an internal report proposed offering several “model” teams to meet student demand for intercollegiate competition while still managing the problem of rising costs. Other sports would be continued as clubs. In the following year, basketball, swimming, and volleyball were established as pilot teams, and Marian Phillips was appointed the director of intercollegiate athletics (she was succeeded by Marian Lender Rosenwasser).

A hallmark of Barnard’s program was a high level of student input and involvement. Edith Mason, who had chaired the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, wrote on March 7, 1975: “At the crux of change is the interest of our students — what they want to do and can do to enhance the value of sports in their lives.”

Governance was provided by an ad hoc undergraduate council, the physical education department, and an athletic director (Rosenwasser for most of the decade; Margie Greenberg Tversky starting in 1979). The student-run Recreation Athletic Association, comprised of four student officers, a representative from each sport, and a faculty advisor, directed financial support to intercollegiate sports and club activities. The Council on Intercollegiate Athletics provided oversight for day-to-day operations and voiced “grievances and suggestions” to the athletic director, while the Tripartite Athletic Committee served as the policymaking body. Both the Council and the Committee often were chaired by students. Representatives from other institutions to the 1979 AIAW National Student Leadership Conference in Los Angeles were impressed when they heard from Barnard delegate and tennis team captain Valerie Schwarz about the degree of authority students exercised in the college’s athletic program.

In addition, individual students occasionally presented their teams’ budget requests. Allison Collins, captain of the 1974-75 basketball team, for instance, submitted her sport’s request for the next season. Attached to the budget was her handwritten wish list, which included “a knowledgeable coach, a 12-game season, improved playing conditions, and better equipment, including an electric scoreboard with a clock.” Somewhat ruefully, Collins pointed out that “it is impossible to play your best game when you have no idea what the score or the remaining time is.”

Like other women’s teams of the 1970s, Barnard athletes struggled against less than ideal facilities and conditions. In the fall semester, for example, the basketball team had to practice in tiny, low-ceilinged Barnard Gym from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. three days a week because the volleyball team had its afternoon games and practices there. In the second semester, the basketball players practiced from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday, in the Barnard Gym, but had to move to the Columbia Gym on Fridays for a 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. practice.

In spite of many challenges within the program, track and field was added in 1977-78, weight training was introduced in 1978, and the entire Barnard athletic program benefited from dedicated faculty and administrators, as well as the comparative advantage of attracting incoming students to a major metropolitan area. There also were some notable athletic successes in these years. Tina Steck became Barnard’s first diver to achieve All-America status, which she earned at the 1977 AIAW National Swimming and Diving Championships. Steck remains the record-holder for total points in diving competition at the Ivy League swimming and diving championships. Barnard also became known in this period for its strong fencing program, which was helped by a cooperative relationship with the Columbia fencing team, including practicing and traveling with the men to meets. Barnard’s Elka Kristo-Nagy, one of the school’s most outstanding athletes, finished second in the 1979 NIWFA championships and was named to the 1979 All-America team.