LAKELAND, Fla. - Throughout this week, Florida Southern College athletics celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passing of Title IX by highlighting various Moccasins who paved the way for Florida Southern's student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and teams.
When discussing the start of Florida Southern College women's athletics, Kathy Benn and Katherine Straw are monumental in the early foundation. Starting in 1966, Benn spent 48 years with the college as a faculty member in the Physical Education Department and played a significant part in the development of athletics at FSC. Benn started her coaching career with the Moccasins in 1971 and immediately made an impact to become the first-ever coach for FSC's women's basketball, volleyball, and women's tennis club teams in the early 70s. Benn was also responsible for the first female scholarship athlete (women's volleyball) for the college as the passing of Title IX shifted an emphasis on women's sports and equality around the nation.
Katherine Straw, maiden name of Hannie, would team up with Kathy Benn, maiden name of Mahoney, to grow Florida Southern's first varsity sport, women's tennis, where Benn was the head coach beginning in the spring of 1971. The Mocs had the first-ever women's varsity match on March 6
th, 1971, where Benn led the team to a win over Palm Beach Junior College. Straw coached the tennis team through 1979, and continued her teaching and working with intramurals in her years of service to the college. Regarding Title IX, Straw said, "We were able to reach beyond existing students who had already been admitted to FSC. We did our best to recruit good female athletes, and we did that with determination and professionalism."
Title IX of the Higher Education Act, passed on June 23rd, 1972, is a federal civil rights law in the United States stating: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The law set the stage for pioneers like Benn and Straw to continue their hard work in women's sports at Florida Southern.
At the time of Title IX passing, the NCAA did not have women's championships, so FSC joined the AIAW, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. A continued advocate for the college, Benn represented Florida Southern in a national meeting of the AIAW in Washington D.C. in the 70s. The opportunity allowed the Mocs to be competitive in the early phases of women's athletics and the chance to win regional and national championships.
Under Coach Kathy Benn, the volleyball team had their first-ever intercollegiate varsity match on September 29
th, 1976, set as the first volleyball match in Jenkins Field House. Two months later the volleyball team competed in their first AIAW State Tournament, and the first AIAW National Championship just two years later in 1978. The NCAA allowed women's championships in 1981, where the volleyball team would become one of two Division II programs to play in both the AIAW and NCAA National Tournaments in December 1981, finishing in the top 10 of both tournaments.
Through the growth of women's athletics at Florida Southern in the early 70s, the college is indebted to Kathy Benn and Katherine Straw for their persistent effort and dedication to equality. The club sports they created led to varsity action, which they would also help in coaching in addition to their faculty duties. Their decades of service to FSC led to female scholarship athletes, competitive varsity competition, AIAW, and later NCAA tournament appearances. The foundation laid by the early pioneers of Title IX grew to nine intercollegiate varsity women's sports, waterski, and club sports like equestrian and cheerleading. With six team national championships and five individual women's swimming national titles, the Moccasins continue to grow their storied championship tradition in women's sports.
For more information on FSC's commitment to Title IX, please visit:
fscmocs.com/TitleIX
