WCU a Pioneer in Women’s Collegiate Athletics Well Before the Passage of Title IX

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Image via Dartmouth College.
Josie Harper, who graduated from West Chester University in 1965, was the first female athletic director in the Ivy League.

Before Title IX was passed in 1972, West Chester University was among the schools that dominated women’s collegiate sports in the Philadelphia area, writes Justin Feil for U.S. Lacrosse Magazine.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, dedicated college coaches drew lacrosse players from all over the East Coast to schools like WCU.

“There was strong female leadership, which was very influential,” said Tina Sloan Green, 1966 graduate of WCU. “These women had been all around the world playing lacrosse. They were bright and passionate about what they did. They were contemporary in their thoughts, and they’d encourage you to be advocates for women’s sports.”

At the time, women had very few opportunities in sports. Athletic departments operated separate men’s and women’s programs, often unequally. Women were usually not allowed into the training room. They received no shoes or equipment, nothing beyond their uniforms.

However, despite everything they did not have, players from that era relished their opportunities.

“We were there for the love of the game,” said 1972 WCU grad Merle Werley. “I think some of that is lost.”

Several pre-Title IX lacrosse players are considered pioneers in women’s sports. For example, Josie Harper, a 1965 WCU graduate, became the first female athletic director at an Ivy League school (Dartmouth).

Read more about pre-Title IX women’s sports in U.S. Lacrosse Magazine here.

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