The 50-Year Shift with Martha Jones Lang
11/3/2022 10:05:00 AM | Women's Golf
I never once thought of myself as a pioneer.
And yet, the funny thing is, looking back 50 years, I guess I kind of was a pioneer. But what does that even mean, really? It wasn't like I came riding across in a covered wagon or anything like that.
However, I do remember how different things were back then in comparison to today because I was front and center.
Everything was like night and day before Title IX came along and improved upon the equality of men's and women's college athletics. But it was never this sweeping, monumental change that was felt right away.
Everything happened in small steps.
You can't truly appreciate how far things have come without looking at it in five or ten-year increments. That's when you can really grasp the scope of where we came from and, hopefully, where we're going.
Before it was the NCAA
I was there from the beginning when we were still playing under the AIAW banner at the University of Alabama. That level of women's athletics was the predecessor to the NCAA before Title IX came into the picture in 1972 and laws started to change.
I wouldn't say I was necessarily heavily involved in that process, but I was certainly aware of what was happening. I could see that it was going to be a great opportunity for women's college athletics.
The first sign of real change for me was when they hired a female athletic director. That was probably the first milestone. Just to see a woman in that role was proof that things really were moving forward in a positive direction.
After that first milestone, it was just this consistent incremental growth that continued year after year. More money started being invested into women's athletics, and the number of teams started increasing.
By the time 1974 rolled around, we became the first women's golf team to be sponsored by Alabama Athletics.
Just being there with the other women on that team was a pretty amazing moment. You never really expect to be the first of anything, you know?
It's hard to put a moment like that into words.
When you look back and see the number of teams right now, as opposed to where it was when I first started competing, it's a pretty remarkable achievement.
How things changed
I guess to really appreciate how far the program has come, you need to understand where things were before Title IX.
There obviously weren't as many tournaments back in those days in comparison to the number of events athletes get to compete in today.
The same opportunities just weren't there at the time.
We might have played in a few college tournaments when I was coming along, but female golfers these days probably compete in eight to 10 collegiate tournaments per year, along with conference championships, regionals and NCAAs.
That's probably why you see the strength of the professional tour.
It's all due to the changes brought along by Title IX. That's the reason why all of these opportunities even exist in the first place.
And it didn't all just happen overnight, either.
I remember being excited about getting a golf bag one year, and then the next year, we got golf shoes and a golf bag. It has been a slow and steady climb towards supporting more trips for competitions, improving the facilities, and upgrading the equipment.
And that's only scratching the surface.
Athletes today are given the tools to go on and follow their passions after college, whether it's in golf or some outside profession. The door is open for a lot of people to use these opportunities, which certainly wasn't always the case.
It really is incredible how far things have come.
Take it from someone who was there in the beginning.
Dawn of the new era
I just hope every athlete appreciates the opportunities they've earned through their own hard work and dedication.
It's very cool to just sit back and see all of these amazing and talented young women competing on a big stage in not just golf, but other sports as well.
It was a long journey just to get to this point.
I think Title IX has opened the doors for so many more athletes to be able to compete. I look at just the number of players and quality of play, along with the opportunities being given, and it's just really inspiring.
The quality and quantity of top-notch athletes are both there right now.
It just makes me more and more excited for the future because this thing is still growing. We haven't reached the finish line, and there's clearly still work to be done.
But there's also nothing wrong with just pausing for a second and appreciating how far we've come. I just hope that all of these athletes value and acknowledge the progress.
Because 50 years ago, things looked very different.
