The end of March marked the end of Women’s History Month, but before the door is shut, The Daily Texan explored some pivotal moments in Texas women’s sports history.
Early years: Hiring of Anna Hiss (1918)
Texas’ inclusion of women in sports began with the hiring of Anna Hiss as a women’s physical training instructor. During her time, she established a women’s intramural sports program, beginning with the Texas Turtle Swimming Club. The program expanded to a total of ten clubs, thus forming the core of women’s intramural sports at UT — swimming, tennis, tumbling, fencing, riding, archery, badminton, bowling, riflery and golf.
Enactment of Title IX: Donna Lopiano Era (1975)
Following the passage of Title IX in 1972, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities, the University of Texas formed the women’s athletics department in 1974.
Donna Lopiano was hired as the first Director of Women’s Athletics in 1975. Her leadership and advocacy to correct inequalities that separated the men’s from the women’s program — such as coaching salaries, dining hall access and training facilities — furthered the program’s success. Lopiano’s work as director played a cardinal role in the establishment of Texas women’s sports reputation as a national model of academic and athletic excellence.
Basketball’s Dominance under Jody Conradt (1976)
The beginning of the Texas women’s basketball program and its dominant reputation in college sports began with the hiring of the first female head coach in Texas athletics history — Jody Conradt. After the first six seasons in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, now replaced by the NCAA, Texas entered the Southwest Conference in 1982. Following their entrance, the Longhorns made eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 to 1990, including their historic 1985-86 perfect 34-0 season. The perfect season was the first in NCAA sports history and ended with Texas’ first national championship title.
During her tenure, Conradt maintained Texas’ athletic excellence with 13 more NCAA tournament appearances between 1990-2007, and concluded her basketball coaching career in 2007 at Texas with a 783-245 record. In her time, Conradt ultimately established Texas women’s basketball as a powerhouse.
Rise of Women’s Track & Field
The reputable and dominant women’s track & field program was formed under two prominent coaches: Terry Crawford (1984-92), who established the program in its early NCAA era, and Beverly Kearney (1993-2013), who carried the tradition on. The program produced numerous Olympians — such as Carlette Guidry, Juliet Cuthbert, Nikole Mitchell, Moushami Robinson, Sanya Richards-Ross and Sandie Richards — and has secured five outdoor national championships (1986, 98, 99, 2005), with their most recent in 2023.
Rachel Sanders et al vs. University of Texas at Austin (1992)
Seven UT women athletes filed a class action lawsuit against the University, citing violations of Title IX. The lawsuit stated UT failed to provide adequate equal participation opportunities for female athletes. The athletes and the University settled out of court, which increased the amount of money allocated for athletic scholarships, and doubled the number of female athletes through the establishment of the female varsity soccer, rowing and softball teams.
Lady Longhorns’ Success
In addition to the success of previously established varsity teams, such as volleyball, tennis and swim & dive, with a combined 18 national championships, the further expansion and steady growth of women’s programs advanced Texas’ reputation into new mediums.
With over 60 conference championships, 30 national championships, numerous world-class athletes and Olympians across various sports, these moments in Texas women’s sports history prove to be fundamental in the formation of the esteemed academic and athletic reputation that is Texas women’s sports.
