USU Athletics celebrates Title IX with Hall of Fame weekend
To cap off Utah State Athletics’ recognition of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, USU will feature a “Celebration of Women In Sport” gala and the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony as part of the 2023 Hall of Fame Weekend.
“It’s an important weekend for us to make sure we’re recognizing and educating folks on women’s athletics,” said Ryan McLane, an associate athletics director and development officer for USU Athletics. “It was a much different path for women.”
The gala, held on April 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the Riverwoods Conference Center, will feature dinner, a silent auction, speakers and two panels. USU President Noelle Cockett and interim athletics director Jerry Bovee will address the audience along with guest speaker Tessa White, a member of the USU Board of Trustees who is married to former Aggie quarterback Kevin White.
A historic panel will feature former Aggie athletes Emily Call Williams, Marilyn Weiss, Cindy Stuart and Diann Darnall.
There will also be a modern panel with current female USU student-athletes. USU Athletics hopes to establish the Women’s Excellence Endowment for women’s sports at Utah State with proceeds from the event. Currently, only USU Gymnastics has an endowment for the team’s budget. That’s a gap USU Athletics is trying to close.
“We don’t have just a general women’s athletic program endowment set up at this point,” McLane said. “We felt like this was a great opportunity to get that established and to grow it and our women’s programs and that in that manner.”
They need to make at least $25,000 to establish the fund. McLane said endowments are important for the Aggies because they establish future funds in perpetuity as USU Athletics distributes money made on interest from the original fund.
“That’s a huge investment we have that we have those funds forever moving forward, and then they can continue to grow,” McLane said.
USU women’s teams would be able to utilize the money to help with everything from in-season travel expenses to team bonding outings.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on April 15 at 7 p.m. The event will be held in the Russell/Wanlass Performance Hall, which houses 421 seats, instead of the Daines Concert Hall, where the ceremony was held last year, which can hold more than 1,700.
This year’s induction will feature the first all-female class in Utah State history, consisting of Tana Call Davis (Gymnastics 1987-1990), Shantel Flanary (Soccer 2008-2011), Krista Larson Du Plessis (Track and Field 2006-2009), Jerrie McGahan (Women’s Basketball 1977-1980), Denae Mohlman Pruden (Volleyball 1997-2000), Christine Thomsen (Softball 2012-2013) and Weiss, who was director of women’s athletics while also coaching women’s basketball, volleyball and track and field from 1975-1981.
“We are excited to celebrate and memorialize the successes of this group of inductees,” Bovee said in a statement. “These women are pioneers and role models, and they have helped pave the way for the opportunities afforded our current student-athletes. We salute and honor the legacy these women have left at Utah State and beyond.”
This will be the 20th class to enter the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Tickets for both events can be purchased at utahstateaggies.com.
Featured images courtesy of USU Athletics.