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Springfield College does not have Varsity Teams for women. In the


past, the women’s intercollegiate program has been poor. This year, we hope to initiate a program which will facilitate the forming of inter- collegiate teams. This program will be explained in more detail to you by the members of the W.A.A. Board as soon as all the plans are organized. We hope that when we do start the new program that you will all cooperate to make it a success.


** You could call them the Founding Mothers. In that 1963-64 school year, Martha Van Allen, DPE ’66, Jone Bush,


g’68, DPE ’70, and Diane Potter ’57, g’63, coached the teams that ushered in a brand new era at Springfield College. It was done with little fanfare and minimal support. Budgets were flimsy. Practice facilities were second-rate. There weren’t even uniforms— other than the aforementioned tunics. But it was clear that change was in the air. “This Play Day just didn’t make sense to me,”


recalls Van Allen, who coached field hockey that first fall. “We just kept pushing until we were able to get the status that we needed.” The team’s effort was noted only sporadically


of bounds,” Bush recalls. “We sat on folding chairs, and they were even out on the court. Oh, it was an experience—I’ll tell you.” Quite a positive one at that. On page 7 of the March 13, 1964


The story, headlined “‘Fem’ Hoopsters End Good Season,” specialized in understatement. Springfield went 7-0, including a 53-12 blowout of a school that would, in time, become the gold standard of women’s basketball at the college level, the University of Connecticut.


on campus. An edition of the Springfield Student from Nov. 15, 1963, contained a brief “Women’s Intercollegiate Activity” update on the bottom of page 7 indicating that Springfield had defeated Central Connecticut, 4-0, with Dottie Potter ’65 (later Dottie Potter Zenaty and no relation to Diane Potter) scoring three goals. Dottie was, in essence, marking her spot. She would go on to become a legendary field hockey coach for 34 seasons, winning at a prolific rate, having coached more college field hockey games when she retired in 2004 than anyone in the sport’s history. Winter meant basketball, a sport with which the institution was


somewhat acquainted. Bush took the reins with games played in the cramped confines of East gym, rather than the spacious Memorial Field House where the men played. “You had to put your foot up against the wall in order to get out


Springfield Student, careful readers noted a story at the bottom next to ads for Six Corners gifts and Jewelers and Contrino’s Barber Shop (“expertly done by Tony C…Dandruff Removers, Shaving Equipment, Free Tonic With Every Haircut”). The story, headlined “‘Fem’ Hoopsters End good Season,” specialized in understatement. Springfield went 7-0, including a 53-12 blowout of a school that would, in time, become the gold standard of women’s basketball at the college level, the university of Connecticut. Spring proved a bonanza with two women’s teams debuting, softball (coached by Diane Potter) and tennis (by Van Allen). Through skillful scheduling, Dottie Potter and Priscilla Drayton ’65 managed to play on both teams, making them four-sport athletes in that breakthrough year. According to Dottie Potter Zenaty, the key to


launching the sports successfully was the compe- tence and determination of the coaching staff. “We were being coached by some wonderful


professionals,” she said. “We felt very blessed.” The teams were not entirely embraced within the campus culture. The 1964 yearbook, for


instance, does not even acknowledge these teams. (The sports section gives photos and recaps of men’s sports and a page to women’s gymnastics, which at that time, was an exhibition team, rather than a varsity sport.) Nevertheless, the pioneering role of those first coaches is clear. “At the time, though, we weren’t thinking about that,” insists


Diane Potter. “We just wanted to have a program for our kids… We didn’t start out to be pioneers, but we really were,” her voice cracking at the memory. “That was the beginning.”


** Advances in the women’s sports program have continued ever since. First, there were small gains, largely cosmetic. Maroon and white


Continued on Page 38


TRIANGLE 3 Vol .Vol. 84


84, No.No. 3


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