Women’s sports continues to grow exponentially at Mizzou
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Since the passing of Title IX, Mizzou women's athletics continues to shine under the brightest lights.
Back in 1972 when Title IX eliminated sex based discrimination for education and activities, the University of Missouri began funding female sports teams.
"When I was a freshman at Mizzou, Chancellor Schooling had a fund, and he donated $15,000 to get women's athletics started," said former Mizzou basketball and softball player Karen Rudolph.
Rudolph game to Columbia from Savannah, Mo. as a freshman in the Fall of 1972. At the time, Mizzou did not have women's sports programs.
"Many of my friends that were teammates had said 'Don't go there to school, they don't have a women's program,'" said Rudolph.
But with the passing of Title IX, she was on the ground floor of not one, but two division one programs just getting started at the University. In her time with the Tigers, she saw support for female athletics skyrocket, as she saw the chancellors fund surpass six figures in funding for women's sports.
Even with more support for the teams, the athletes still had to find ways to raise money for their programs.
"We knew that if we were going to have a program, we were going to need to get out and work for it," said Rudolph. "There really wasn't a travel budget, and so the student athletes my junior and senior year would sell soft drinks in the football stadium, walking up and down those aisles carrying those heavy trays."
Those moments brought the programs closer together, not just for the sake of each other, but as a way to ensure that these programs would get the recognition they deserve.
"I think it was the passion. It was the willingness to say, 'We want to play,' we want that opportunity. But it was also hard when you shared hardships with others, then you become bonded to them."
Today, women's sports at Mizzou have the most support they ever have, with the gymnastics team competing full time in Mizzou Arena, and the volleyball team set to play a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
"While we were experiencing it, we never though of ourselves as trailblazers or pioneers. So when we come back here, there's that wonderful feeling deep in your hears where you know we had a hand in this. Despite the lack of support, despite conflict with classes, despite not having things in our scholarships that maybe the male athletes had, we made a start."
