Current Athletes on the 50th anniversary of Women Varsity Athletics at Cornell University

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Women Varsity Athletics at Cornell University. Pausing to acknowledge and reflect on this anniversary is an important milestone for current Cornell women athletes. “It is impressive to celebrate our diverse genders, race, sexualities, the achievements of women athletes, Title IX in a way that champions more of it going forward. It is special to see the women that came before me,” said Khary Pryce ’22 of Cornell Women’s Tennis. 

For many, 50 is a complicated number – it is simultaneously many years of proud history, and yet only 50 years; it feels like it should be more. The students recognize that when the next anniversary comes around, they will be a part of the story. Samantha Will ’22, of Cornell Women’s Basketball, is proud and excited to have the opportunity to build onto that history, to be a part of it. Women’s Lacrosse player Katie McGahan ’20 MBA ’22 is amazed by the “legacy [earlier athletes] have left in the hands of the current athletes.” It’s about “the legacy of the people that came before us” for TG Mbanefo, of the Women’s Basketball team, too, they “paved the way for us. It makes me recognize, what am I doing personally to make sure that the experience for the people that come after me is better, and I’ve taken that to heart.” Reflecting on the alumni that come to the Women’s Basketball games with their young daughters, TG elaborates, “those girls look up to us. It's a continuum.”

When we spoke with various students from Cornell’s women’s varsity athletics teams one message was consistent – they are all excited and proud to build on the existing wins and championship titles for their teams, and they look forward to seeing an increase in respect for women sports and diversity within their ranks. 

Hockey player Lindsay Browning ‘21 MS ‘22 says, “I have such an appreciation for what we have now versus what they had to start with, dressing in closets, maybe in hand-me-down equipment from people, recruiting figure skaters to play hockey. You think about the dedication and drive they must have had to push forward against all odds and start the athletics program at Cornell. I really can't thank them enough for paving the way for what we have today.” 

This milestone is also about acknowledging the resilience and strength of those who came before, particularly women of color as this year also marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX. “As a woman, and a woman of color, when you think of the strengths and challenges of intersectionality -- It sheds light on how much strength women bring to sports, competing, and being team players,” says Ashleigh Gundy ‘22 of the Women’s Lacrosse team. “Women athletes of color bring so much to this place, their teammates, and the community at large." 

Gratitude. Overwhelmingly, the women athletes interviewed for this piece feel immense gratitude for those who came before them. As Katie reflects, she acknowledges that without the strength of women athletes of the past five decades, she would not have the opportunities, experiences, excitements, and joys that she appreciates so much. She feels molded by those who came before her, “I don’t sit here today with strength and poise without their guidance throughout the years.” She says, “There are no words to describe my gratitude for the women that fought for equity and funding to make sure we can do what we love.” Gymnast Valerie Aubley ’22 is grateful because the experiences on the gymnastics team she’s been afforded have empowered her. Her experiences have given her the confidence to, “try my hand at new things, and pick myself up when I fail.” 

Mofoluke Obiri ’22, of the Women's Soccer team, remembers, “speaking to the alumni who were on the first women’s varsity soccer team at Cornell, talking about how little equipment and support they had when they just started. But they loved the sport so much that they worked through it. Hearing about the challenges they faced and pushed through makes me so much more grateful for my experience and all the things we don’t have to worry about anymore.” 

But the work continues. Within collegiate sport organizations, like the NCAA, and in society at-large, the struggle continues for women’s sports and women athletes to be held in the same regard as their male counterparts and to be paid equitably. The women interviewed are glad to have the spotlight on this anniversary year, and are hopeful it continues beyond, and equitably with their male counterparts. They hope the university and Cornell students can help amplify how talented the women’s teams are and create more awareness by talking about and sharing in their successes for the Big Red and attending games more regularly. 

Within the teams themselves, diversity is improving, but ultimately, the work is not done. Fifty years from now, the students interviewed would like to see more diversity on women’s athletics teams, hopeful that by then, society will have created more programs and avenues for more diverse female athletes to be able to play at a high level, and many would be proud to see recruiters dip into recruiting pools that are unexplored. Sports can be a vehicle of change, and the students hope to see their programs embrace that.

Fifty years of Women’s Varsity Athletics is a milestone to celebrate as well as launch pad for continued improvements. As TG states, “Fifty years is less than a lifetime. It excites me. What is it going to be in 100 years? How can we move forward? How can we push and create more equity within women’s sports? How can we make this space inclusive? And how can we continue to have fun and continue to compete in our sports? I’m excited. I am grateful for the people that came before me, and I recognize I have a job do to here.”