Ivy League Sports

Much of my professional career has been devoted to researching and writing the history of sport in the United States and the history of women in the Olympic movement. I became enthralled with my numerous Olympic studies and sometimes wondered if any other aspect of sport history would be as exciting and interesting.

The late 19th century and early 20th century were intriguing eras in the development of women’s sport in America. While planning my strategy to write the Ivy League history, I decided to begin with the 1970s and follow with the 1980s and 1990s while saving the pioneers, the best, for last. Those pioneers who participated at Barnard College, Cornell University, Pembroke College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Radcliffe College encountered challenges unknown by contemporary sportswomen.

As I read about each season at each school in the 1970s, I concluded that every decade of women’s Ivy League sport was equally as exciting and alluring. As the administrators, coaches, and athletes of the 1970s established new sports and traditions, their counterparts in the 1980s benefitted from the struggles of their predecessors. The sportswomen of the 1980s also fought to maintain what had been gained during the previous decade. They also sought improvements that they deemed important to remain competitive both inside and outside the Ivy League in the 1980s. Meanwhile, sportswomen of the 1990s, while encountering such challenges as competing against teams of “scholarship” athletes, continue the Ivy League tradition of competing for the love of sport.

In 1973, a pivotal meeting organized by Arlene Gorton, assistant director of athletics at Brown University, led to sport governance for women at Ivy League schools. Included were: Agnes Bixler Kurtz, Dartmouth College; Mary Paget and Alice McCabe, Harvard-Radcliffe; Marie Darlington, University of Pennsylvania; Merrily Dean Baker, Princeton University; and Joni Barnett, Yale University. These original framers of Ivy League women’s athletics, who also included Marian Lender Rosenwasser at Barnard College and Martha Arnett at Cornell, have provided the basis for all the successes which have followed, and their contributions are a valued legacy for student-athletes in the Ivy League.

My experience as an athlete has served me well in completing this project, because determination and perseverance were important in writing eight schools’ 25 year history of intercollegiate athletics. In a quarter of a century, women in the eight Ivy League schools have accumulated together 200 years of formal competition. Implicit in the Ivy League athletic experience is the perspective of sport that compliments academic excellence. Both the women and men in the Ivy League are truly student athletes and I admire their devotion to sport in the academy.

It is a distinct honor to have been commissioned by the Council of Ivy Group Presidents to research and convey the history of Ivy League women’s athletics championships. Carolyn Campbell-McGovern, senior associate director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, is commended for her proposal to commemorate the Silver Anniversary of women’s championships in the Ivy League. The associate athletic directors at each institution embraced Carolyn’s suggestion, and endorsed my involvement in this project that recognizes and thanks those who have been a part of the development of Ivy League women’s intercollegiate athletics.

I am especially indebted to Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, who before departing Cornell University to become director of athletics and recreation at the University of Denver, suggested that I write this history. I also am appreciative of my long-time friend and Olympic movement colleague, Pat Henry, associate athletic director, Harvard University, for endorsing Dr. Murphy’s suggestion.

Contributing Editors Daniel Rosenthal, public information assistant for the Ivy Group in 1997-99, and Lynn Whittaker, each have made fundamental contributions. Dan’s organizational skills, suggestions, and encouragement, and Lynn’s participation in developing the completed manuscript, both were essential; their individual writing was invaluable. Our designer Donna Mugavero, of Sheer Brick Studio, placed her own wonderful imprint on every aspect of the book’s presentation, and Chris Friedenberg and Oscar of her studio also were crucial to the production of what you will see in the following pages.

The sincere interest in the project shown by all associate athletic directors and directors of athletics at the eight schools comprising the Ivy League has been an inspiration throughout the project. The associate athletic directors have been most gracious hosts during the campus visits, including: Joan Taylor, Brown University; Merry Ormsby, Columbia University; Dr. M. Dianne Murphy and Anita Brenner, Cornell University; Josie Harper, Dartmouth College; Carolyn Schlie Femovich, the University of Pennsylvania; Pat Henry, Harvard University; Amy Campbell, Princeton University; and Barbara Chesler, Yale University. In addition, the directors of athletics were most willing to share their ideas, and their interviews are appreciated: David Roach, Brown University; Dr. John Reeves, Columbia University; Charles Moore, Cornell University; Dick Jaeger, Dartmouth College; Bill Cleary, Harvard University; Steve Bilsky, University of Pennsylvania; Gary Walters, Princeton University; and Tom Beckett, Yale University.

Jeff Orleans, executive director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, provided precisely the right amount of leadership, enthusiasm, suggestions, and the ability to conduct meaningful meetings to make the project a most rewarding experience. Chuck Yrigoyen, associate director of the Ivy Group, has been encouraging since the inception of this project and has supplied important data. In the Ivy office, Marcia Laidler, administrative assistant, and Jane Antis, office coordinator, have assisted in numerous administrative tasks. Erica Hurtt, while serving as public information assistant for the Ivy Group, collected data and offered suggestions for pictures. Trish Kosloff, compliance assistant of the Ivy Group, contributed to the initial stages of the project, and Ashley Hawn, compliance assistant for the Ivy Group, and Jennifer Enke, public information assistant of the Ivy Group, assisted in data collection. Student assistant and Princeton senior Steve LaMontagne stepped in during the final stages of the project to contribute his dedication, creativity, and organization.

His willingness to do whatever was required, and to adapt quickly and flawlessly to the overall plan for the book, had an important impact on the final version. He also is responsible for the creation of the Silver Anniversary archive, located in the Ivy Group office in Princeton, which will allow future researchers to draw on its considerable database.

The Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library at Princeton University contained most of the primary sources that were used in writing about women’s athletics during the 1970s. Jane Lowenthal, archivist, Barnard College; Jane Knowles, Radcliffe College archivist; and Andrea Dutcher, Cornell University, who made Martha Arnett’s files available, provided valuable data.

Financial support for this project was made possible by the Council of Ivy Group Presidents, which also provided stipends for research assistants on each campus. The research assistants collected data based on my requests and saved me from countless hours of photo-copying invaluable primary sources: Erin Hobin, Brown University; Andrew Castin and Erin McDermott, Columbia University; Wendy Fiel, Tara Flegel, and Jill Schleifer-Schneggenburger, Cornell University; Jack DeGange, Dartmouth College; Monica Garrett, Harvard University; Cathy D’Ignazio, the University of Pennsylvania; Kaia Greene, Princeton University; Geoff Zonder, Becky Cowper Moe, and Marjorie Anderson, Yale University.

In addition to the research assistants, sports information personnel on each Ivy campus extended themselves above and beyond their normal duties to assist in the large-scale research effort. The words and pictures you see within would not exist had not the following people responded to requests for information precisely and successfully: Chris Humm, Beth James, Eileen McCarten, Tim Chestney, Ken Johnson, and Gordon Morton, Brown University; Todd Kennedy, Bill Steinman, and Heather Croze, Columbia University; Pat Gillespie, Dave Wohlhueter, Laura Stange, Elli Harkness, Marlene Crockford, and Jeremy Kniffen, Cornell University; Kathy Slattery, Michael Mahoney, Cindi Mansell, Bill Garfield, and Sarah Hood, Dartmouth College; John Veneziano, Paul McNeeley, Jamie Weir, Buffy Clifford, Peter Guiney, and Rebecca Blaeser, Harvard University; Shaun May and Carla Shultzberg, the University of Pennsylvania; Kurt Kehl, Jerry Price, Mike Zulla, and Jennifer Garrett, Princeton University; Steve Conn and Tim Bennett, Yale University.

The financial assistance I received enabled me to travel to each Ivy League school and interview administrators, coaches, and athletes. I am most appreciative of the time they shared and the critical insights they offered. Additionally, funding extended to the transcription of the 107 interviews at the University of Florida’s Oral History Program. I am very thankful for transcribers Roberta Y. Peacock, Tracy Schall, Kitty Jones, and Danielle Vance who produced 1,561 pages of transcript. Dr. Julian Pleasants, director of the Oral History Program at the University of Florida, was a source of encouragement throughout the project. I am indebted to the University of Florida for awarding me a Professional Development Leave in the fall of 1998 that enabled me to complete the writing of this history. To my colleague, Dr. Ruth Alexander, at the University of Florida, thank you for reading portions of the manuscript and listening to my Ivy League stories.

My final and most essential acknowledgment is offered to Daniel Rosenthal, Public Information Assistant, Ivy Group. His long hours and effort were central not only to this book, but also to producing a magnificent traveling exhibit, depicting in hundreds of photos a pictorial time line of progress that captures the essence of sport in the Ivy League. Because of his assistance throughout the project, including participation in interviews, designing the book template, reviewing both research and many drafts, and his genuine interest in this history, Daniel Rosenthal has made this project a career highlight.