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After missing the Indiana game with a hip injury, Husker I-back Dave Husker defensive end and Bob Martin (87) dives for Texas Christian
Gillespie (28) returned action against TCU, picking up 39 yards on 1 1 University (TCU) running back Ricky Wright (23) while linebacker Jim
carries. The Huskers won 56-14. Wightman (59) comes in to assist.
By Susie Reitz
High level competition and an expanded
women't athletic program are the two main
goals of the new Women's Athletics Dept.
administrators.
Aleen Swofford, women's athletic
director, and Jay Davis, women's sports in
formation director, say they view women's
athletics as more than recreation.
"We're excited that they've accepted us
here," Swofford said. "We want to have
teams that compete on high level - of
competition."
"Some people think women's sports will
take money away from football and other
men's programs and hurt them," she said,
"but that's not why we're here at all."
"We're here to build the women's
program to the level of the men's," Davis
said.
Both at Texas
Both Swofford and Davis were at Texas
Womens University in Denton, Tex. before
coming to UNL.
' Swofford, who has a Ph.D. in women's
athletic administration, came to UNL in
July and immediately established priorities
for the Women's Athletic Dept, she said.
One of her first priorities, she said, was
. establishing a Women's Sports Information
Dept. to let the public know about
women's athletics at UNL.
Davis, who completed her Ph.D. in
exercise physiology a year ago, knew Swof
ford at TWU.
Davis said she saw that 'Vomen's sports
information is where it's at-a really fast
growing field" and decided to accept the
offer to come to UNL in August.
She also is ' assistant athletic director,
bookkeeper, recruiting coordinator and
general public relations representative for
iv t- a .t-i.ii- r
. "We would like to expand the pro
gram," Swofford said, "But there must be
public, as well an an athletic, demand for a
sport before it will grow.".
The program will expand as the public
sees women in high-level competition,
Swofford said.
"Women in sports are beautiful and
when public realize that, the demand for
women's sports events will increase," she
said.
The women's athletic' program operates
on funds generated by the men's sports
now, Swofford said, but eventually will
become self-supporting. It receives no state
support, she said.
Part of building financial backing has
included establishing a UNL Women's
Intercollegiate Athletics Fund through the
University of Nebraska Foundation, Swof
ford said. Funds will be used for
equipment, and not for administration or
salaries, she said.
Booster club
A new women's sports booster club,
called "Boost-Her" has been organized by
supporters of women's athletics and will be
the base for organizing fans for women's
athletics at UNL, Swofford said.
Competition for the UNL somen's
teams is with Nebraska schools as well as
school in Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota.
Teams also compete in regional and invita
tional tournaments where they meet Big 8
and other midwestern schools, Davis said.
A newly-formed small college division
of the Association of Intercollegiate
Athletics for Women in Nebraska has left
UNL and the University of Nebraska at
Omaha as the only larger college repre
sentatives in the state. The schools will
establish their own regulations regarding
lengths of seasons, practices and types of
state tournaments, Davis said.
"This will permit us to compete with
more schools on our. own level of competit
ion," She said.
Nine sports
UNL offers nine intercollegiate sports
for womerf. Fall sports include field
hockey and volleyball. Gymnastics, basket
ball and swimming and diving are winter
sports and softball, tennis and tack and
field are spring sports. Women's golf, in its
first year at UNL, has a fall and spring
season.
With two exceptions, the women's
coaches are on joint -assignment with the
Physical Education Dept. The exceptions
are Larry Romue, golf, who also coaches
men's golf, and George Nicodemus, basket
ball. Coaches Elizabeth Petrakis, field
hockey; Myreen Loveless, softball; Karen
Balke, gymnastics; Roger Capan, track and
field; Gail Whitaker, tennis and Pat Sullivan,
swimming and diving and volleyball are
joint assignments.
Women athletes have fuUtime student
trainers this year for the first time. PrisclUa
Raasch, a senior physical education major,
is head trainer. Assistants are Sandy Stuart,
who works with fall and winter sports then
plays softball, and Beth Pillen, who plays
field hockey then works with winter and
spring sports.
Conditioning program
Training Includes a new weight training
and conditioning program directed by ,
strength coach Boyd Epley, according to
Raasch.
With improved conditioning, the
number of injuries to women athletes
should decline Raasch said.
Improving the women's program in
eludes increasing the number of scholar
ships awarded, Swofford said.
Women's athletic scholarships are distri
buted equally among sports, she said.
Currently 56 women are on scholarship.
Scholarship recipients this year are ail
Nebraska natives, Davis said. Womens
scholarships pay in-state tuition and fees.
We think this is indictive of the type of
program we want to start with," Swofford
said. "We are starting girls from this state
and will go outside the state as our
program grows."
Part of the in-state expansion will in
clude contacting coaches within the state
about athletes and working with them in
clinics, Davis said.
' -" fn f'"' ''''" pt JPT
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