Early women’s basketball powers fade as money and NCAA control reshape the game
Early women’s college basketball powers including Immaculata, Queens College, Wayland Baptist and Delta State helped lay the groundwork for the modern game but have faded from national prominence as money and the NCAA’s takeover reshaped the landscape, Delta State athletic director Mike Kinnison said.
The AP poll debuted in 1976 and those programs dominated the early years of the sport’s national rankings and the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, the article said. Immaculata and Delta State won multiple AIAW national titles in the 1970s and will be recognized during “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience” at Arizona State, according to Delta State and event organizers.
Former coaches and administrators say the shift accelerated after the NCAA began administering the women’s game in 1982 and Title IX spurred rapid growth. “If you want to be nationally competitive, if you want to win national championships, there’s a very significant investment involved,” Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman said, adding that schools must pay for coaching, amenities and recruiting in an environment where athletes have more options.
The change in resources has altered competitive balance. Smaller pioneer schools moved divisions or associations: Immaculata to Division III, Queens College and Delta State to Division II, and Wayland Baptist to the NAIA, the schools said. The 68-team NCAA women’s tournament this season included 12 Big Ten teams, 10 from the SEC, nine from the ACC and eight from the Big 12, the tournament field showed.
Still, coaches and administrators at the pioneering programs say they are preserving their history and hoping to remain relevant. “You have to be a steward of that history,” Queens coach Travis Ponton said. Immaculata coach Brittany Whalen and Delta State coach Tracy Stewart-Lange said they use the programs’ pasts to recruit and inspire players. Alanis Thames reported from Cleveland, Mississippi; Doug Feinberg reported from New York and Philadelphia.
Source: Original Article
