While the idea of physical education for U.S. women and girls originated in the 1830s, women were not admitted to Middlebury College until 1883, and their athletic participation remained separate and unequal until after the passage of Title IX in 1972. This timeline documents the history of Middlebury's women athletes from the 1880s to the present day.
In 1898, fifteen years after the first women entered Middlebury, the College implemented a physical education requirement for female students.
While women engaged in some athletic pursuits prior to 1912, the W.A.A. was the first student organization specifically devoted to women's athletics.
In contrast to intercollegiate competition for men, female physical educators in the 1920s promoted the "Play day movement," wherein female students would gather together for a day of athletic activities. Simultaneous with the rise of the Play Day movement, women educators abolished competitive programs for female athletes.
In 1921, Middlebury's Board of Trustees agreed to build a new athletic field next to Pearsons for women.
Members of the women's golf team earned MIddlebury women's first college championship when Ohio State hosted a golf tournament in 1941.
In 1934, the first Play Day was held at Middlebury.
In February 1934, the College hosted its first intercollegiate carnival, which included the first women's intercollegiate ski meet at Middlebury. Women raced against skiers from UVM, McGill, and Skidmore.
In 1946, Middlebury women began playing against teams from different schools in basketball, volleyball, softball, and field hockey.
In the conservative post-World War II era, critics questioned the newfound idea of “female athleticism.”
Downhill skier Becky Fraser, class of 1946, became the College's first Olympian when she competed in the 1948 Winter Olympics.
Reflecting the renown of Middlebury's Ski Program, Paramount produced "Sno' Time for Learning," a nationally distributed film about Middlebury women skiers in 1948.
The Division for Girls and Women in Sport, established in 1952, was a powerful force in women's collegiate athletics during the transition to more competitive, intercollegiate play.
In 1956, the Tripartite Committee composed of representatives from the National Association for Physical Education for College Women, the National Association for Girls' and Women's Sport, and the American Federation of College Women) was formed to help mediate intercollegiate competition for women.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, women's sports become increasingly popular and college women's interest in competitive sports grows quickly.
1960 Renie Cox Gorsuch `60 skis in the Winter Olympics.
In the mid-1960s, the NCAA decided that it needed to begin sponsoring women’s programs.
From the mid-1960s to the arly 1980s, the "second wave" of American feminism altered the horizons for women athletes as well as other U.S. women.
In 1967, the CIAW was founded to oversee the process of designing, sponsoring, and sanctioning women’s intercollegiate sports and championships.
While Middlebury womenhad played field hockey for decades, Varsity-level play was only established in 1968.
Between 1968-1978, the field hockey team was very successful, with an undefeated season and very few losses overall.
In 1969, the first Varsity women's swim team was established.
In 1969, the Varsity women's lacrosse team was established.
Middlebury's men's and women's colleges, which had become increasingly anachronistic, finally merged during the 1969-70 academic year.
Women's interest in tennis, like that of men, spiked in the 1960s, and a varsity women's tennis team was established in 1971.
On June 23, 1972, Title IX of the education amendments of 1972 was enacted. It states that "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The AIAW was founded in January 1972 to govern collegiate women's athletics and to administer national championships.
In 1973, athletic facilities for women slightly improved under the administration of coach Mary Lick.
In 1974, the Middlebury Women's Ski Team was only allowed to compete individually (not as a team) at the first national women’s ski championships. Had they beaan allowed to enter as a team, they would have swept the championships.
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In 1977, Tom Lawson was appointed the new Athletic Director and Missy Foote was hired as head coach of the women’s lacrosse team and physical education instructor for the sailing club.
The 1979 Middlebury Women's Ski Team won at the National Championships and became Middlebury’s first ever National Champion team.
In 1980, the women’s ski squad won the national championship for the second year in a row.
In the 1980s, some students complained that the college should have more women coaches, and female athletes should have facilities comparable to those that male athletes enjoyed.
The women’s rugby club and riding club were also established in the 1980s.
During the 1981-82 academic year, four new practice fields were designed to give women and men more equal facilities.
In 1982, the AIAW launched an anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA in its effort to maintain control over women's championship play. When the court ruled in favor of the NCAA, the AIAW dissolved.
In 1988, captains of women’s teams complain to Athletic Director Tom Lawson about persisting gender inequities in the sports program.
The squad became the first women's team to capture the title other than the female skiers.
Over 60% of the total points came from women's teams.
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