Yesterday: a team of their own
When most people hear “Title IX,” they immediately think of its effect on women’s collegiate sports, because of the great impact it had in that arena. That law, enacted 40 years ago, brought women’s intercollegiate sports to many campuses, including Missouri Western.

For the first three years of Title IX, its relevance to women’s collegiate sports wasn’t much talked about. In fact, the original statute made no explicit mention of sports, and instead emphasized hiring and employment practices. But in 1975, when the U.S. Health, Education and Welfare Department published the final regulations of how Title IX would be enforced, those involved in college athletics began to understand the effect it would have on their world.

Charlie Burri, Missouri Western’s athletic director at the time, said that although the push to begin intercollegiate sports for women came from Title IX, “we knew it was the right thing to do. There was no question it was coming, so we took off right away.” In the 1975-76 academic year, Missouri Western added four women’s sports: basketball, softball, tennis and volleyball.

Rhesa Sumrell had played club volleyball and basketball in college at Middle Tennessee State University, and had always wanted to coach college athletics. When Title IX passed in 1972, she was teaching at a junior high school in Tennessee.

She applied at Missouri Western and was hired in 1975 as coordinator of women’s athletics and coach of three of the new sports:  basketball, softball and volleyball. Bonnie Greene was hired as the tennis coach.

Bonnie was teaching physical education at Missouri Western at the time and had been serving as an advisor for the women’s clubs. The 1972 Griffon Yearbook reported that the 1971-72 school year was the first year for the Women’s Sports Clubs, and sports included volleyball, basketball and baseball. “The teams occasionally played other local colleges and city teams,” the yearbook said.

However, Charlie said women’s athletics wasn’t without its difficulties because there was little or no money available for women’s sports. The first year, Rhesa was given $5,000 for scholarships for women athletes and $5,000 for operating expenses, which was lower than the men’s sports’ funds.

“It was a difficult, painful growing process,” Rhesa said of the college’s adjustment to women’s sports. But after a while, she said, the women’s teams were too good to be ignored.

Basketball earned second place in the state tournament in its first season, and the the next season, volleyball won the state tournament. That was followed with appearances in several regional and national post-season tournaments for the volleyball team. And just six years after its inaugural season, the softball team became Missouri Western’s only national champion in its history. “The softball team wasn’t very good at all at first, but it didn’t take them long,” Rhesa said with a laugh.  

When Rhesa started at Missouri Western, women’s sports were part of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women because women weren’t allowed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the men’s athletic association. After about five years, women were allowed to join the NAIA, and Rhesa said that made things a little easier, including having more money for full scholarships.

A look at rosters from the early years of women’s intercollegiate sports reveals that several of the women played more than one sport.

Rhesa’s sister, Chris Sumrell ’80, was one of those women, as she played volleyball, basketball and tennis for Missouri Western from 1976-80. She said she signed a letter of intent and earned a scholarship to play basketball, but when she arrived on campus, “Rhesa said, ‘By the way, you’re going to play tennis and volleyball, too,’” Chris said with a laugh.

“Rhesa went to the mat a lot, fighting for equality and ways to get more money for sports,” Chris said. “It was definitely a building time.”

Playing in the inaugural years of women’s collegiate sports, Chris said they felt a lot of pressure and felt like they had something to prove. “It had to be that way. We were fighting for equality.”    

Three years after Rhesa arrived at Missouri Western, Debbie Bumpus was hired to coach women’s basketball, but Rhesa led the volleyball and softball teams the entire time she was at Missouri Western. She left in 1986 to coach softball at University of Missouri-Columbia and retired from University of Central Missouri in 2006. 

 “There was a stigma for women playing sports; it wasn’t the womanly thing to do. But I fought it anyway,” Rhesa said. “Now it’s so much fun seeing male athletes having daughters and expecting their daughters to play sports.”
-end-

 Centennial Notes
Women’s Athletics – the first seasons: 1975-76
The volleyball team’s first match was against Tarkio College, Tarkio, Mo., and its first season record was 5-14. Team members included Marilyn Ciolek, Kim Cooper, Nancy Geha, Karen Harris, Brenda Keller, Carole Kelley, Debbie Kriegshauser, Mary Mahoney, Kate Myers, Mary Nichols Karen Pauley, Janice Petty, Stephanie Prather, Susan Round, and Dot Walsh. Rhesa Sumrell was head coach.

 The basketball team held a 13-5 record its first year and earned a second place trophy in the state tournament. Team members were Joni Gilliland, Brenda Keller, Mary Nichols, Stephanie Prather, Beth Wheeler, Kim Cooper, Phyllis Crouse, Carole Kelley, Karen Pauley, Nancy Geha, Debra Mabin, Janice Petty, Joy Sherard, Teresa Whitt, Karen Harris, Shirley Tingler. Rhesa Sumrell was head coach.

 Softball went 8-6 its first season. Team members included Candy Burton, Loy George, Karen Harris, Brenda Keller, Debra Mabin, Mary Mahoney, Mary Nichols, Janice Petty and Joy Sherard. Rhesa Sumrell was head coach. (Editor’s note: I was unable to find a complete roster of names. If you were on the first softball team, email me at holtz@missouriwestern.edu or call me at 816-271-5651 so I can list you in the next issue.)

The women’s tennis team was 1-8 its first season. Playing for the team that first year was Chris Felts, Debbie Higdon, Debbie Kriegshauser, Janet Long, Linda Martin and Joyce Slayden. Bonnie Greene was head coach.