Let’s pull out the old VCR tapes and take a look at basketball 50 years ago. The shorts were a lot shorter, the socks were a lot longer and players, coaches and administrators were often male.
Fast-forward to 2010 and the game is barely recognizable. Besides longer shorts and shorter socks, the presence and influence of women in sports is stronger now than ever.
Whether on the court, coaching from the bench or behind a desk, there is a growing amount of equality, attention and opportunities available to women in athletics.
AU Senior Woman Administrator Athena Argyropoulos credits Title IX, an amendment passed in 1972 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in education programs, for giving women a voice in sports and for giving her a job.
“The position of Senior Woman Administrator at Division I collegiate institutions was a created position to help manage the opportunities for women,” Argyropoulos said.
The amendment also increased the number of scholarships available for women playing collegiate sports. This was done in order to maintain a balanced ratio of male-to-female athletes. Argyropoulos, an AU alumna, personally benefited from Title IX scholarships.
“I was a student athlete and was literally on the cusp of Title IX,” Argyropoulos said. “I was given some opportunities that women before me weren’t given.”
Women’s basketball Assistant Coach LaTonya Watson, who also profited from an athletic scholarship as a student-athlete, agreed that scholarships have played a large role in the growth of women’s sports.
“I think the opportunities that are given to women in sports through scholarships today is a huge difference between sports in the past and sports now,” Watson said. “Scholarships give [women] the ability to use athletics as a vehicle to go to school.”
People have also overcome false perceptions about women playing sports. It is a second change that Watson believes has advanced the presence of women in athletics.
“I think people in the year 2010 realize and recognize that fitness is very, very good,” Watson said. “Parents are now thinking about the amenities [of sports], which include that they will end up with a more confident, strong-minded daughter who essentially has the world as her playground.”
Encouraging parents, according to Argyropoulos, are the second factor that helped increase the number of female athletes.
Junior Michelle Kirk is an example of an AU women’s basketball athlete who had supportive parents.
“I think my parents really just pushed me at a younger age,” Kirk said. “Athletics have always been just a huge part of my life.”
As a way of inspiring young girls to play sports and generating excitement for AU’s women’s basketball team, Argyropoulos started National Girls and Women in Sports Day at AU nine years ago. This past Saturday, the university celebrated the event with a skills clinic led by AU student-athletes following the women’s basketball victory over Colgate University.
“This is a celebration of women emerging in sports and getting the same kind of opportunities that were afforded [to] men years and women years ago,” Argyropoulos said. “And it is an opportunity for our kids to give back to the community, so it’s a win-win.”
For Watson, the event exposed young girls to diverse sports, while bringing focus to breast cancer.
“I think the attention and the focus being put on [breast cancer] is a great thing,” she said. “And to be able to do that at a women’s basketball game, that’s a great afternoon.”
Unfortunately, the crowd at the National Girls and Women in Sports Day is rarely matched at other home games. Watson said she does not understand why the team’s fan base does not reflect the accomplishments of the team.
“Not enough people recognize that our team is tied for first in the Patriot League right now,” Watson said. “I would love for people outside of the AU community to recognize the accomplishments of these young ladies because they are not just basketball players, they’re excellent students.”
Argyropoulos said women’s sports generally have little national support. In order for interest to grow, the amount of media exposure given to women’s sports must increase, she said.
“There has to be a buzz created in the grass roots and there have to be people who demand to see women’s sports on TV,” Argyropoulos said. “But there have to be packed houses that people can’t get in the doors to first.”
According to Kirk, unequal publicity is keeping Bender Arena from sold out crowds each night.
“If you look at coverage of men’s games versus women’s games, it’s not even close,” Kirk said. “The school has been trying to do better, but the overall awareness of our team is so low compared to the guys.”
Women have the power to increase awareness and publicity for women’s sports, Argyropoulos said.
“I think interest in women’s sports is going to continue to grow because [women] are covering sports,” Argyropoulos said. “Women need to promote women.”
While setbacks and inequalities still exist in women’s sports, Argyropoulos says it is important to not overlook how far women have come. After all, it was only about 38 years ago when women were rarely on the court wearing those short shorts and long socks.
You can reach this staff writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
