Sports (Group B)

Gender Integration in Sports

Prior to 1870, women's sports were recreational rather than sport-specific in nature, meaning that the events were informal, noncompetitive, and with limited rules. Women were not encouraged to exert themselves. The purpose of these activities were to be enjoyed by the participants as a pastime rather than a competition with the goal of beating another team.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, women began to form clubs based on sport and athleticism. As more women joined these clubs, leading to their expansions, women’s sports became more competitive. Some men’s clubs even began to take in women to participate with them. Tennis, croquet, and bowling were among these clubs during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

The early 20th century led to continued progress for women and their right to an education. Women such as Anne Sullivan and Maria Montessori improved education as a whole, not just for women. Notable organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Alpha Kappa Alpha, an African-American Greek letter organization and Sigma Delta Tau, a Jewish women's Greek letter organization, pioneered ways for minority women to be more involved with their education. The early 20th century was a time of revolution in the educational system where women began to gain more power in regards to their education, but also their extra-curricular activities.

Women around this time were slowly being integrated into higher-level education. Women’s sports were developing at the time to play at more competitive levels, like how men leagues are played. Early women’s college sports were largely informal and unrecognized, played in intramural leagues, meaning that play was only against teams from the same school, not against teams from other schools. Competitions for women included intramural, club, and sorority matches, as well as ‘play days’, special dates when women competed in sports and activities against students and teams from their schools.

The Impact of Sports at Florida State College for Women

Florida State College for Women was the largest of the original two universities in Florida, even during the period as the college for women. The college would continue to grow and become the third largest women’s college in the United States in 1933. Florida State College for Women was a traditional women’s college with an abundance of culture and traditions, some that continue to live on today.

A famous tradition from Florida State College for Women the Freshman-Junior weddings. Students are divided based on their ‘Oddness’ or ‘Evenness’ of the year of each student. Freshman-Junior weddings took place in the Fall and were an important transition for women as they left behind their old peers and ideals from before and became involved in their higher-level education.

College sports throughout the 1920s were very young, and for women, they were almost nonexistent. Women at the Florida State College for Women followed in the footsteps of what other colleges were doing at the time: intramural sports.

Apart from Freshman - Junior Weddings, Odds and Evens competed against each other in sports like basketball, baseball, and volleyball. Women at this time were finally experiencing a more normal college education, making memories, and enjoying time spent with their peers. Women would compete against their peers, as other peers cheered the teams on. Not only were students encouraged to participate in sports, the teams were encouraged to come up with team names, resulting in names like ‘Madame X’, ‘Boo Daddies’, and ‘The Sparkplugs’. By having teams that were managed by the students themselves, the students would have direct input into the decision making about anything going on with their team. This signifies an important time in history where women were encouraged to be creative, assemble, and make decisions for themselves.

The sports the women at the Florida State College of Women were competing in were serious and competitive. So much so that the Florida Flambeau, a newspaper founded in 1915 covering all activities on campus, provided the coverage and statistics for the games that were played. Women were being written about as sports stars in a way that had never been seen before.

Students at Florida State College for Women looked up to their peers, the athletes who competed. Since the Florida Flambeau not only captured many of the statistics from each game, but also wrote detailed post-game editorials about the games, students were able to stay in the loop with all of the sport 'play days' that were occuring. Some of the athletes became household names as students began beings fans of the teams and players. This is signifigant beacuse being a fan of a sport team represents someone's identity and each person's favorite team is chosen for a reason. At the time it was not common for women to have this type of independant representation.

Continued Improvement of Women's Sports

In 1947, a new, coeducational alma mater was established, creating what is known today as Florida State University. With the foundation of a new university, women now had more opportunities than ever before both academically and athletically.

During the 1967 - 1968 season, Florida State University began its first intercollegiate women’s sports, consisting of volleyball and golf. This was the first time that women were ever encouraged to fully commit themselves to athletics, a preview of what in the 21st century has turned into a multimillion dollar business.

Even though a new institution had been founded, women were still not officially integrated on the level that men were at the time. Prior to 1972, there were just 30,000 women participating in NCAA sports, as opposed to 170,000 men. It was not until 1972 when Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity, was signed and established in the June of that year. During that same year, Florida State University established intercollegiate women’s tennis. Women continued to be integrated into sports throughout the 20th century. Florida State University expanded its women’s intercollegiate athletics opportunities by providing opportunities for women to compete in soccer, softball, track and field, swimming and diving, and cross country.

Works Cited

“1947 Hospitality Legacy Society.” 1947 Hospitality Legacy Society, Dedman School of Hospitality, dedman.fsu.edu/giving/1947-hospitality-legacy-society

Bell E.D, J.D., Richard C. “A History of Women in Sport Prior to Title IX.” The Sport Journal, 12 Oct. 2016, thesportjournal.org/article/a-history-of-women-in-sport-prior-to-title-ix/

Florida State University. “Florida State University.” History, Florida State University, www.fsu.edu/about/history.html.
Joanos, Jim. “Seminole Spotlight.” FSU Athletics Timeline, NoleFan, June 2012, nolefan.org/garnet/seminole72.html

“On This Day in Florida History - May 15, 1947 - Florida State College for Women Goes Co-Ed, Renamed FSU.” Florida History Network - Your One-Stop Source for Celebrating and Preserving Florida's Past, Today, www.floridahistorynetwork.com/may-15-1947---florida-state-college-for-women-goes-co-ed-renamed-fsu.html

“Title IX Enacted.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/title-ix-enacted.
“Celebrating 50 Years Of Women's Athletics.” Florida State Seminoles, Seminoles.com, 5 Sept. 2018, seminoles.com/50th/