1998

Dr. Carol E. Gordon

Gordon championed women's athletics at the state and national levels. She served as president of both the Washington Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation and the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. During her 21 years as chair of the Department of Physical Education for Women, 1962-83, she also coached women's field hockey and tennis teams, 1962-66. Her teaching specialty was psychology of sport.

Gordon played high-school basketball in New Hampshire, mainly "curtain-raisers" for boys' games, and graduated from Oberlin College, where opportunities for women to participate in sports were limited. She was 1968 WSU Faculty Woman of the Year, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators, 1998.

Dr. Charlotte West

A mentor and a leader in her field, Dr. Charlotte West retired as Associate Athletics Director at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale(SIU) in 1998 but left a legacy as one of the nation's pioneers in women's collegiate athletics. She served as a coach, faculty member and an administrator during her 42-year tenure.

West began her service to SIU in 1957 as a coach and instructor in the Department of Physical Education. In 1973, she became a full professor and developed SIU's graduate program in sports management, which she directed until 1991.

West earned regional and national acclaim for her work in the governance of intercollegiate athletics, including President of the American Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee, first woman member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors and a five-year stint on the NCAA Council.

The first recipient of the Woman Administrator of the Year Award from the NACWAA, West also was named the first recipient of the Honda Award, a national honor given for outstanding achievement in women's collegiate athletics.

In all, West coached five sports from 1957 to 1975 at SIU, and her basketball compiled a 113-51 slate in 12 seasons.

West received bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physical education from Florida State University, a master's degree in physical education and dance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and a doctorate in physical education with a minor in educational measurement from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Judith R. Holland

Dr. Judith R. Holland came to UCLA as the Women's Athletic Director in 1974 and later became the Senior Associate Athletic Director when the men's and women's departments merged in 1980. From 1975-79, she oversaw the women's athletic department and after the departments combined, she assumed major responsibilities for both men's and women's sports.

Throughout her 20-plus years at UCLA, Holland was regarded as the nation's foremost Women's Athletics Administrator. In 1980, she was the driving force behind the merger between the AIAW and the NCAA, which is now responsible for the tremendous popularity and achievement of women's college athletics.

Under her guidance, UCLA won the National Combined Program Award, symbolic of the nation's top women's program, a record 10 times and finished no lower than second in the award's 17-year history. During that time, the Bruins won a total of 37 national championships.

While at UCLA, Holland was the chair of the NCAA Women's Basketball committee (1989-93), chair of the Olympic Liaison Committee, vice-president of the Pac-10 Conference, and chair of the Pac-10 Gender Equity and Compliance Review Committees. She also served as Competition Director of the Olympic Games basketball venue in Los Angeles and as a member of the USA Basketball Board of Directors. Holland was the impetus behind UCLA hosting a record six NCAA championships in 1984 as part of the L.A. Olympic celebration. During Holland's tenure in Westwood, UCLA hosted more NCAA and Regional Championship events than any other university.

Holland also founded and served as chair of the Honda Awards program that honors the nation's top female collegiate athletes each year. In 1990, she received the university's highest service award when she was honored by the UCLA Alumni Association.

Dr. Leotus “Lee” Morrison

A commitment to quality and equality in women’s athletics is the legacy of Dr. Leotus “Lee” Morrison from her career in athletics as a James Madison University (JMU) coach and administrator. In addition to her impact on women's college sports nationwide, she is credited with the development of James Madison University’s Women’s Athletic Program, including the establishment of 12 teams.
 
A native of Savannah, GA, Morrison joined the JMU faculty in 1954 and became associate athletic director in 1971. She coached the JMU field hockey team for 17 years prior to her retirement from coaching in 1977.

Morrison played an instrumental role in the formation of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the original governing body for college women’s athletics in the U.S. She was a member of the founding board of the AIAW and one of its early presidents. 
 
Morrison’s efforts on behalf of women athletes were recognized in 1985 when she was presented the Katherine Ley Award by the Eastern College Athletic Conference. In 1984, she received the Honor Fellow Award from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS), an organization for which she formerly served as President. The NAGWS award cited her as a “leader, teacher, humanitarian…to whom people owe a great debt of gratitude for her contributions to girls and women in sports.”
 
Morrison’s other significant accomplishments include her membership to the United States Field Hockey Association and the American Council on Education. She also initiated the development of and was the first President of the South Atlantic Field Hockey-Lacrosse Conference, an affiliate conference of the NCAA. In 1990, JMU awarded Dr. Morrison the Doctor of Humanities Degree in recognition of her distinguished career.

Dr. Martha Mullins

Dr. Martha Mullins spent 21 years as an administrator in the Eastern Kentucky University(EKU) Athletics Department, and her influence continues to be felt at EKU and in the region. 

While serving in the roles of Associate Athletics Director for Internal Affairs and Assistant Athletics Director at EKU, Mullins also served on various committees. She served on the Executive Board of NACWAA from 1986-92. She was one of the original recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the organization. Mullins also served on the Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame and 40th Anniversary Committees. 

A past president of the Citizens for Sports Equity and the Kentucky Women’s Intercollegiate Conference, Mullins received the KWIC Honor Award in 1984 for outstanding service to women’s intercollegiate athletics in Kentucky. 

In addition to her administrative roles, Mullins coached women’s tennis and was a professor in the Department of Physical Education.

Dr. Mary A. Rice

Dr. Mary Rice was a pioneer in the advancement of women’s athletics. She served as a Professor of Physical Education and Director of Women’s Athletics at Glassboro State College (Rowan University).

Rice was the AIAW Division III Commissioner and the EAIAW Chairperson for Field Hockey. Rice also chaired the NJAIAW Ethics and Eligibility Committee and Lacrosse Committee.

For her contributions to Rowan University athletics, the Dr. Mary Rice Award was established to honor a female student-athlete who demonstrates excellence in skills, attitude and dedication.

Jeanne Rowland

Jeanne L. Rowlands is a women's sports pioneer who coached basketball at Northeastern University (NU) and was the university's first Women's Athletics Director. In the 1970s, she led Boston women in marches on Washington for passage of Title IX, which outlawed gender discrimination in education and raised the national profile for women's athletics.

In 1966, Rowlands, who had been a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Besançon in France, became NU's first Varsity Women's Basketball Coach. She led the basketball squad for a dozen years, taking the team in 1969 to compete in the first women's basketball championship, a forerunner to today's NCAA championships.

As Director of Women's Athletics at NU from 1974-1991, Rowlands expanded women's varsity teams from six to 10. When Title IX became law, Rowlands worked with other sports administrators on the delicate task of creating schedules for fields and facilities once used only by men.

In addition to her work at NU, Ms. Rowlands was managerof Team USA's women's basketball team for the World University Games in Moscow in 1973 and the World Championship in Bogota in 1975. She also was manager of the 1976 Olympic Women's Basketball Team, which won the silver medal in Montreal.

Rowlands was awarded many honors during her career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from NACWAA and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Katherine Ley Award. NU presented her with the university's Founders Day Award in 1988 and an honorary doctorate in 1991.

Phyllis J. Bailey

Phyllis Bailey served as the Associate Athletics Director at Ohio State University. She also held the title of Associate Professor Emeritus. Through her work at Ohio State, Bailey was responsible for creating the first women’s athletic program in the Big Ten.

Bailey also served on numerous committees, including the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. At the time of her retirement, Ohio State women’s programs had won 29 Big Ten titles and the Women’s basketball team had made an appearance in the Final Four.