Photos courtesy of Furman Athletics' Instagram post
February 4, 2023
“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.” - Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972.
Throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, athletic departments around the country have celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation, which made it illegal for any institution receiving federal financial assistance to discriminate based on sex.
As part of their celebration, the Furman Paladins athletics department paired their “Weekend at the Well” women and men’s basketball games with the Women in Sports Foundation’s annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Members of all Furman’s women’s athletic teams took part in the weekend’s celebration by conducting clinics for children around the concourse of Greenville’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena and signed autographs for fans prior to the start of the women’s game.
Furman volleyball and lacrosse players practiced fundamentals with children, while kids worked on their striking skills with members of the women’s tennis team. Soccer players worked on passing drills and softball players displayed the basics of fielding. In an Instagram post, Furman’s women’s basketball coach Jackie Carson commented that her daughter felt so confident in her tennis skills now, she felt she could beat her mom now.
The centerpiece of Furman’s celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, and the 50th anniversary of Title IX, was the women’s inter-state rivalry basketball game between the Wofford Terriers and Furman Paladins. As might be expected with rivalry games, the 9-14 Paladins gave the 19-6 Terriers all they could handle – in a game that saw 11 lead changes with no team ever leading by more than 6 points, the women of Furman basketball had a chance to force overtime as time expired, but could not get a last gasp three-pointer to go down.
The events of the day were a perfect example of the role this type of community outreach plays in inspiring the next generation of female athletes. Each generation had someone come before them to pave the way for the generation behind them.
Furman was just one of hundreds of schools using the week to celebration the contributions of women and girls in the sports world.