Messenger - Vol. 3, No. 4, Page 6 Summer 1994 Twenty-five years of women's athletics: 1969-1994 1969-1974 Two-year pilot program established in 1969 for three sports: field hockey, basketball and swimming. Budgets were $500; athletes traveled by station wagon; and students provided most uniforms. In 1971, the Athletic Governing Board made women's athletics a permanent program at UD. Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Council formed. Title IX, federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded institution, passed in 1972, with post-secondary school implementation in 1978. In 1972, two more sports added: tennis and volleyball. UD joined Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in 1972. Women's athletics moved from Hartshorn Gymnasium to Carpenter Sports Building. 1974-1979 Integration of UD men's and women's athletic programs, and Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Council dissolved. Most women's programs moved to improved Delaware Field House. Swimming and volleyball stay in Carpenter Sports Building. Budget increases for travel, insurance, championship events, banquet costs. Softball added in 1975 and lacrosse in 1977. Financial aid initiated for field hockey and basketball in 1976. Alumni Association awards for outstanding athlete in each sport and outstanding senior athlete established. Letter-winner awards for women and men student-athletes standardized. AIAW divisional play initiated, with UD becoming Division II in all sports except Division I field hockey. 1979-1984 Addition of three sports: Indoor and outdoor track and field in 1979 and cross country in 1981. Several part-time assistant coaches added and athletically related financial aid increased. National success for several teams under Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women: field hockey, four top-four finishes; lacrosse, two national championships; swimming, national champion relay team; track and field, individual qualifiers for national championships; volleyball, qualified for two national tournaments. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) takes over women's athletics in 1982. All sports programs declared Division I. Lacrosse wins NCAA Division I National Championship in its 1983 inaugural season. Ultimately, the lacrosse team takes three consecutive national championships. Field hockey takes third in NCAA championship in 1982; lacrosse takes third in NCAA championship in 1984; and cross country, swimming and track and field all have qualifiers for national competition. UD wins Conference Commissioners Cup for "overall excellence in women's athletic competition" in 1982-83 and 1983-84. Women's athletics incorporated into East Coast Conference. 1984-1989 National qualifiers in cross country and track and field. Field hockey and lacrosse qualify for national rankings. UD won East Coast Conference Commissioners Cup in 1985-86, 1987- 88 and 1988-89. Permanent softball scoreboard, resurfacing indoor and outdoor track, new game and practice fields for field hockey and lacrosse. Academic support for athletes added in 1987. 1989-1994 East Coast Conference Commissioners Cup won in 1989-90, 1990-91. UD joins North Atlantic Conference 1991-92. All women's programs included except lacrosse, which is affiliated with Colonial Athletic Association. NAC awards annual Commissioners Cup to most successful combined men's and women's athletic program, which UD wins in 1991 and 1992. Soccer added as 11th sport in 1990. Scholarship aid offered to athletes in lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball. Equipment improvements continue and budgetary increases include recruitment funding. With Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center comes new practice and game facility for basketball, improved access to training room, weight room, equipment room and locker rooms. Move to separate head coaches for all sports except cross country, track and field and swimming. UD team invited to National Invitational Volleyball Championship in 1992. Field hockey and lacrosse have sporadic national rankings. Gala dinner with guest speaker Billie Jean King held in Spring 1994 to celebrate 25 years of women's athletics.