28 Inside Hokie Sports WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Virginia Tech’s women’s and men’s Basketball programs held a coreunion in November ’22 for all former players and team affiliates. It was a fantastic event that included tickets to both Men’s andWomen’s BB games, socials at Bull & Bones and PK’s, a tour of the athletic facilities, and a “watch party” for the VT vs. Duke football game in the Student-Athlete Performance Center. Attendees were honored by the presence of two women who stood out as pioneers in Virginia Tech sports. Jamie Little–’89 reports on the event regarding women’s basketball. She indicates that Betty Glover Cornwell–’74 and Susan Tracy–’74 were instrumental in building the program into the empire it is now— “They started it all!” —taking WBB from an unsanctioned to a sanctioned club sport through sheer determination and all for the love of the game. Here’s the story in their words. Cornwell: In 1971, the first year, a classmate and I talked about wanting to play basketball. We had been high school rivals. We went to Miss Ganna Roberts (our advisor) and asked her if there was some way to start a basketball team to play other colleges. Basketball had been such a big part of my high school experience, and I just loved the game. The thought of possibly playing again and forming new friendships got me excited. I had to go to the Extramural Sport Club Association and ask to become a team. We had to be a team for a year before we could be recognized. From there, we put up flyers to see if there was enough interest on campus. Miss Roberts found a volunteer coach, Ed Overcast. Miss Roberts really moved mountains to get things organized and find teams to play that first year since all games were away. I helped where needed. Tracy: All our games were away the first year, and we competed against those teams from all girl schools that had established teams and coaches. We also played other teams from schools that were fledgling programs like ours. Remember that Tech, UVA, and some other schools were newly co-ed. Some of the coaches and even officials of the all-girl schools did not take kindly to our male coach and VT having a women’s basketball team. We had volunteer graduate students coach us. One of the men’s team members, Charlie Thomas–’74, watched a game or two and told our coach to change our defense to a 1-3-1 zone. In high school, we had played six-man basketball so most of us had not played both offense and defense. When we started the team at Tech, we played five-man basketball for the first time. We practiced in the two back gyms of Cassell Coliseum, bought our own uniforms, and drove to games piled into players’ cars. On the few occasions we stayed overnight, we slept on floors at players’ homes. Cornwell: In our second year, we got permission to play on the coliseum floor. We were excited and awestruck the first time we practiced because this was where the men played, and we had never been in such a big arena. The first game on the coliseum floor was Tuesday, January 23, 1973, against Emory and Henry. We lost 49-43 but what an experience. Excitement plus just playing basketball again on your home floor. Tracy: I remember being in awe playing on the main court at Cassell for the first time in our second year. It was cavernous compared to the cramped court we practiced on and the small gyms where we played at other schools. UVA was the only big court I remember playing. Cornwell: On playing in Cassell: Awestruck, exciting, proud to wear a Tech uniform and represent your school. Also, some of the men’s basketball team (esp. Charlie Thomas–’74) came to games and gave us advice at practice that was amazing and meant a lot to us. We even got to have the trainer, Ed “Stud” Motley, help us with injuries. Tracy: We had sparse crowds. Our friends, roommates, boyfriends, family, and even our second-year coach, John Ristroph (PhD ’76) an engineering graduate student, got some of his engineering fraternity brothers to become our fans as VT women’s basketball was born. Cornwell: Basketball was a big part of my high school experience. I am very competitive, and although intramural sports are fun, playing for your school is exciting. You meet people in other majors and schools that you would never have met, plus the competition is better. So, competition, excitement, playing five-man, and friendships were the driving forces. Tracy: In thinking about our team, we were all girls who had played at the varsity level in high school and found ourselves without a team in college. We loved playing basketball and wanted more competition than intramural basketball offered. We had basketball in our blood! Cornwell: At the beginning there were no scholarships, no special treatment, no uniforms, no training facilities, no recognition, no future playing basketball, no nothing except the LOVE of BASKETBALL! I don’t think any of us thought about the program turning into where it is now. We were just a bunch of girls (women) who loved the game of basketball and wanted to play. Jamie Little–’89, Club Director of Women’s Basketball (jolittle@rcps. org), observed that Betty Cornwell–’74 and Susan Tracy–’74 indicated that the team’s travel song was “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” After having the privilege to meet and talk at length with them, I can tell you that these women were and are no sleeping lionesses! MONOGRAM CLUB ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP In 2021, the Monogram Club initiated an endowed scholarship program aimed at empowering future Virginia Tech athletes, “For Those To Come”. As former student-athletes, the Monogram Club membership seeks to empower the future student-athletes at VT. Believing that congregating, developing a platform for relationships and providing support are main drivers to securing a solid future for studentathletes and VT, the Monogram Club embarked on an effort to further solidify the relationships of former student-athletes, current studentathletes, the Hokie Club and the athletic department, all in the spirit of Hokie Nation. The Monogram Club Board of Directors, composed of sport-specific representatives for each sport at VT, decided to enhance this mission through a Golf Tournament and reception, tailgates prior to home football games, recognition of the Monogram Club during football and basketball games and much more. Today, the Monogram Club is highlighting an initiative aimed at providing financial support for the Athletic Department to further support future student-athletes. “For Those To Come” brings together the main focus groups for a bold and successful bonding opportunity for all of Hokie Nation. In its first year, For Those To Come raised nearly $60,000 to complement the Monogram Club’s initial seed of $25,000. As we look to the 2023 events, we are poised to secure an initial endowed scholarship ($100,000) and to make significant headway towards additional scholarships. To accomplish our goals, we need your support, not only financially, but through communication and encouragement. During the upcoming spring weekend, the Monogram Club will host a Golf Event at Roanoke Country Club on April 14 followed by a large reception in the Merryman Center sponsored by the Edmunds Family. We expect many former VT stars to be present and participating in the activities again this year. How can YOU help? Today, we are requesting former student-athletes to participate in the activities by playing/attending the Golf Event and/ or reception, considering personal financial support and by introducing the corporate world to the efforts. Sponsorships for the Golf Event, listed on the Monogram Club page on HokieSports.com, provide significant meaningful opportunities for corporate and individual support. Note that contributions made directly to For Those To Come are tax deductible. Join us for this exciting weekend and Go Hokies!! (Mike Ligon– ’82; ligonm01@verizon.net). SWIMMING & DIVING Best of luck to Ian Ho – ’18 who continues to train while pursuing a PhD in Engineering. He will be representing Hong Kong in sprint freestyle events at the World Championships in July and the Asian Games in September. Historical S&D Roster —Please note that we’ve started a project to build a complete historical roster of Virginia Tech Swimming and Diving participants. To help with this effort, please send your name and the names of teammates along with years participated to Brian Lubin–’90 (brian_ lubin@yahoo.com). monogram.hokiesports.com
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