Before Brittney

This book is about champions in women's athletics at Baylor University-the champions who competed, the champions who coached, the champions who provided the advocacy and leadership for the women's athletic program, and the champions who have brought Baylor's women's athletic program to the national prominence it enjoys in 2012. It's also about the champions in women's intercollegiate athletics whose struggles to attain national recognition and implement national championships for women endured from the 1930s through the 1970s. These champions fought hard to retain the early values of sport for women and provided strong leadership through the AIAW until the day they lost their battle with the NCAA for control of women's intercollegiate athletics. When did women's athletic opportunities begin at Baylor University? Who were the Baylor Bearettes? Who were the early leaders in women's athletics at Baylor, the coaches, the players? Through the lenses of those who were there (including the author), those who played, those who advocated for women's equity, and those who made it happen, these questions are answered in this book. For the first time the story is told of the Baylor women's sports program and its rise to national prominence.