Title IX Plaza

Francie Kraker Goodridge was faster than the boys in 1960. At Slauson Junior High School in Ann Arbor, she was envious of the boys she saw with letter sweaters knowing she could not earn one with no varsity teams offered for girls.

Francie’s remarkable speed would not go unnoticed. Betty and Kenneth ‘Red’ Simmons, an elite runner, asked her if she would like to train for the Olympics. Red balked at the notion that women were too fragile for athletics and engineered a weight-lifting program for Francie. Within a couple of years of coaching Francie, they founded a thriving female track and field club, The Michigammes.

Francie went on to attend the University of Michigan, but the school did not have a women’s track team nor award female athletic scholarships. She continued to train with the Michigammes. Francie’s perseverance paid off, not once, but twice, when she qualified to represent the United States in women’s track and field at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics.

Image: Francie Goodridge running 

Title IX meant that universities were required to offer women’s sports, not that they had to care. Carol “Hutch” Hutchins made sure that Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and eventually, the entire nation cared.

Playing sports at Lansing Everett High School in the 70s, Hutch did not just want to play, she wanted to be great. At Michigan State University, she played basketball and softball, and won a softball National Championship in 1976. Despite the success, the inequities were glaring. Men’s teams traveled via bus or plane and would receive food stipends to eat at nice restaurants, whereas women’s facilities were rudimentary, and travel arrangements were non-existent. In 1979, champion civil rights attorney Jean King filed a Title IX lawsuit on behalf of Hutch and her teammates. Together they fought, an injunction was issued by the Court, and finally, Hutch started to see significant changes.

In her 38-year career at the University of Michigan as a coach, she catapulted the women’s softball program into the elite national spotlight. Hutch never lost sight of where women’s sports began and believes her story teaches that if “your right is being attacked, understand the issues and do something about it.”

Image: Carol Hutchins coaching

Three generations of the Hillmon family not only played basketball, but have been change-makers in the sport and for women’s equality. Grandmother, Gail Williams, played women’s basketball at Cleveland State in the 1970s. Gail had to buy her own shoes, rode city buses to games, and rarely played in front of fans.

Naz’s mother, NaSheema Anderson, was an all-American basketball player at Vanderbilt University from 1994-1998. NaSheema experienced greater access to academic tutors, travel arrangements and use of the same basketball arenas as the men. NaSheema played professionally for one year, but pay was not enough to support a family.

A standout at the University of Michigan, Naz was the first player in program history to earn All-American honors and the only player – female or male – in the school’s history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. As a first-round pick in 2022 for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream, Naz and other women are finally able to consider basketball as a sustainable long term professional career. However, three generations later, Naz faces new challenges as she continues to push for more because the next generation of women athletes have arrived and deserve the best in their sport.

Image: Gail Williams, NaSheema Anderson, Naz Hillmon

When Title IX became law in 1972, girls in Michigan were ready to play. The momentum in the Pinckney Community Schools started with coach Sandy Andreson, Laurie Schenden, and the Pinckney Pirates. Sandy came to Pinckney in 1970 and was shocked that girls’ school sports did not exist.

Sandy introduced the Girls’ Athletic Association (GAA) to the community where the club grew to be one of Pinckney’s largest. Freshman Laurie Schenden, developed speed and agility under Coach Andreson’s “fast break” offense. Her display of athleticism earned her an athletic scholarship at Lansing Community College and led to a career in journalism.

Armed with ties to Coach Andreson, the GAA, the Pinckney Pirates, and many female athletes throughout the region, in 2015 Laurie produced “An Unexpected Win: Title IX and the Pinckney Pirates,” highlighting the impact of Title IX. The film is now shown in schools across the United States–encouraging girls everywhere to play.

Image: 1973 Pinckney Pirates

The letter jacket is a symbol of accomplishment and excellence—earned through hard work and determination. For many women, the university letter represented another boundary to overcome.

Sheryl Szady was a club field hockey star at the University of Michigan. When other schools refused to play Michigan until they became a supported varsity team, Sheryl spoke to the Board of Regents. Her case was strong, Michigan field hockey was elite, and University President Robben Fleming agreed. As a result, six new varsity women’s sports were created including field hockey.

Despite earning varsity status, Sheryl and her teammates would not be awarded their “Block M” varsity jackets. None of the other women’s sports would either. The athletic director circulated letters of dissent that disparaged women athletes, “… how can you let them give the same “Block M” for which you bleed and sweat for on the fields of Michigan?” Sheryl relentlessly fought back. In 2016, Sheryl was awarded her letter jacket that she earned 43 years prior. Her fight garnered the same “Block M” varsity jacket for hundreds of women that excelled in sports at the University, giving them the recognition and respect that was long deserved.

Image: Sheryl Szady in her block “M” letter jacket

Ramona Cox considers herself lucky—as a young woman playing multiple sports in the 1980s at Detroit’s Renaissance High School, she worked with coaches who pushed her to be both a better athlete and student. With the support from her parents and coaches, she went on to excel on the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University volleyball teams.

Ramona pushed farther, earning her Ph.D. in Sports Psychology at Michigan State University, specializing in the unseen barriers that girls have to overcome: lack of family support, cost of participation, transportation issues, and social stigma.

As the Head Varsity Volleyball Coach at Cass Tech High School and Founder of Fair Play Volleyball Club, Ramona advocates for her athletes, inspires confidence on and off the court, and encourages her athletes to advocate against inequality. Her vision? A playing field where equality is embraced and women and girls of all backgrounds have infinite pathways to succeed through sports.

It often takes a champion to facilitate change—Molly Moore being one of them. During construction of a multi-purpose complex at Adrian College in 2006, Molly questioned the absence of women’s locker rooms in the plans. Administration assured her they would be provided but when the complex opened, there weren’t any. Instead, they had to use the one in the old facility. She filed a Title IX complaint and the Office of Civil Rights found Adrian College to be in violation on multiple counts. While Molly felt compelled to resign, she had no regrets stating, “Doors open through action and small steps can lead to big changes.”

Sheila Ford Hamp is right at home in the front office as controlling owner of the Detroit Lions. She credits her confidence as a business leader to her competitive tennis career, where she was a Michigan State championship and was a pioneering member of the women’s team at Yale University. Since taking over as controlling owner of the Lions in 2020, Sheila—one of six female NFL owners—fights for diversity in the league, intentionally hiring women for high-level positions.

Former Ann Arbor Greenhills School Athletic Director Meg Seng turned her passion for sports into a 30+year career. Seng was a scholarship athlete playing both volleyball and softball at Indiana University, winning two Big Ten championships on the diamond. Meg saw few opportunities for women to coach, so she did something about it: she co-founded The Academy for Sport Leadership (TASL). TASL’s mission is to attract women to coaching through mentor networks and career pathways.

Denise Thal attended Berkley High School but could not compete in tennis because girls school teams didn’t exist in 1969. Neither the school’s athletic director nor the Michigan High School Athletic Association would allow her to play with the boys. Unwilling to accept it, Denise wrote a letter to state senator, Dan Cooper. Senator Cooper introduced legislation to allow girls to play on the boys’ team if girls sports were not offered. Thanks to Denise using her pen and her voice, girls across Michigan could play sports previously not available to them.

In 1973, Sara Fitzgerald was the first female editor-in-chief of the Michigan Daily. She helped highlight inequality at the University of Michigan at the faculty and leadership levels and in sports and other activities, building a buzz around gender discrepancies on campus. Nearly 40 years later, Sara returned to Michigan to write Conquering Heroines: How Women Fought Sex Bias at Michigan and Paved the Way for Title IX. The book describes the activism that created significant change for women at the University.

As a result of the work of Ann Arbor attorney Jean Ledwith King, policies and programs at the University of Michigan were permanently altered in the early 1970’s. Jean was one of the architects of Title IX and litigated for women in education, employment and 33 sports. She was tenacious, fair, and committed to change.

As a student-athlete at Michigan State University, Carol “Hutch” Hutchins and her team were forced off the basketball court by a visiting coach, “because nobody gives a damn about women’s basketball.” Intolerant of the appalling treatment, Hutch contacted Jean King in 1979. King took the case and used federal law to demand MSU players be given equal playing time, travel arrangements, meals, and lodging. Thanks to King, Hutch and her teammates no longer packed into a station wagon—they traveled by charter bus (just like the men).

Karen McKeachie grew up in Dexter and trained near this plaza. As a standout runner at Dexter High School in 1968, she was invited to participate on the boys’ team—only if they all agreed. They voted to exclude her, despite her beating almost the entire team. Instead, Karen trained with Red Simmons and the Michigammes, an all-female track club, finding a supportive and competitive environment that set her on a path to success.

In 1974, Karen qualified to compete at the first-ever Cross Country Nationals. The Michigan athletic director said she could not represent the university at the event. Karen would not be deterred and had her mom sew a “Block M” on a jersey and ran anyway, finishing in the Top 15.

Karen became an elite triathlete, winning seven world championships, 15 national championships and finishing multiple Ironman competitions. She was inducted into the U.S.A. Triathlon Hall of Fame in 2014.

On August 26, 2016, Karen was cycling a few miles from here when she was tragically struck and killed by a vehicle. Since her death, Karen’s family and friends continue to advocate to improve trail safety and access for all.

When Title IX became law in 1972, Michigan was focused on football and far behind other universities in women’s sports. In 1973, the Commission for Women would change that. Members Eunice Burns, Sheryl Szady, and Marie Hartwig drafted a report recommending varsity status for six women’s teams and a plan to share facilities. Despite significant opposition, University regents and the president approved what came to be known as The Burns Report. A varsity women’s sports program started in 1974, with Hartwig named as the first women’s athletic director. In the years following, Eunice remained active as an Ann Arbor civil servant and long-standing community leader.