College athletes are always thrilled and energized by game-changers …
 
On June 23, 1972, perhaps the most stunning game-changer of all didn't occur on any playing field or court but through the signing of Title IX — an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 and a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
 
Finally, would female athletes in school get a level playing field with the men?
 
In this 50^th anniversary celebration of Title IX, UC Davis looks back (and forward) in a series focused on the rich history of Aggie women's sports and the inroads made by this campus with the assistance of that far-reaching federal statute.
 
"A lot of women — Pam Gill-Fisher, Marya Welch and others — set a framework for female athletics not only here at UC Davis, but a lot of other places," says Athletic Director Rocko DeLuca.
 
He points to the increase in donor support for many athletic programs and the fact that of the 35,000 Aggies on campus, roughly 60 percent are women. "Having done things right from the beginning, we've struck a pretty good balance in our investment in both men's and women's athletics," DeLuca says. "We are leaning equally hard into both."
 
While aided by the requirements of the 50-year-old Title IX law, UC Davis has never been an institution waiting for federal guidelines to provide for or help showcase its female athletes.
 
Gill-Fisher, the iconic basketball coach and former AD, remembers the early days of full compliance with Title IX, then how former Chancellors Ted Hullar and especially Larry Vanderhoef were instrumental in figuring out what was needed for UC Davis to be right and relevant in women's athletes.
 
With Vanderhoef and Gill-Fisher paving the way, UC Davis added seven women's D-II squads in the 1980s. The campus is now blessed with 23 men's and women's intercollegiate programs, and a majority of those teams (14) represent female student-athletes.
 
So, what, exactly, is Title IX?
 
Sponsored by Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) and signed into law by President Richard Nixon, simply put, Title IX prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives funding from the federal government.
 
Originally, the amendment was to prohibit discrimination in "various fields based on race, religion, national origin, color or sex." In the unveiling of Title IX — and in the document itself — sports were not specifically noted.
 
Title IX revisited many of the applications of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but sex had been excluded in that landmark legislation. In the discussion of the new law, the equal opportunities provided for prep and college athletes became a focal point of discussion.
 
At one point, Rep. John Tower (R-Texas) penned an amendment to Title IX that would have exempted athletic departments. Tower's concern found no love in Congress, but the athletes element of Title IX remained implied. Debates over the definition of compliance standards and of Title IX's impact continue to this day.
 
Nonetheless, the message has been pretty clear at UC Davis, especially in the 21^st century: The Aggie administration works to ensure that the campus meets the letter of the law as set by Title IX and its earlier and subsequent equal-opportunity directives.
 
Pioneers in women's athletics such as Welch, Sharon Rose, Gill-Fisher and three-time Division II Coach of the Year Jorja Hoehn were among those who created the foundation for Aggie women's athletics.
 
In the next few months, you'll be introduced to many of the UC Davis women who have made a difference. And don't forget, while much of that game-changing has come on the courts and fields, some of these Aggie faithful have made their presence felt with their benevolence, too.
 
Edwards, Raycraft, Martin, Kamisher-Gordon, Rose, De Young, Gill-Fisher, Littleton, Kamisher-Weber, Makley, Bartholomew and Schaal … so many families and individuals whose fiscal contributions have helped provide facilities that have made the UC Davis transition from Division II to Division I less daunting.
 
Along the way, improvements to LaRue Field (softball), the building of the field hockey facility, the Schaal Aquatics Center, the beach volleyball sand courts and the soon-to-be unveiled 40,000-square foot Edwards Family Athletics Center have given UCD a leg up in serving its existing student-athletes and recruiting new ones.
 
While the complete Aggie athletic budget sits at $40 million, the Marya Welch Initiative was formed in 2017 to help pay the distaff freight.
 
Liz Martin, Associate Athletics Director for Leadership Giving and Alumni Engagement at UC Davis, sees the program as another way that UCD can ensure equality between women's and men's athletics.
 
Before the Welch Initiative was created, UC Davis had a matching-funds contribution for women's projects from an anonymous donor. Martin thought that, by creating a broader avenue for benefactors and use of those funds, "Every year we can make an impact on a different program.
 
"The Welch Initiative was our way of saying, 'Let's all come together … and, hopefully, every year we'll make an impact on a different program.' "
 
As DeLuca explains, folks at UC Davis always find a way to keep women's programs moving forward, in compliance with Title IX guidelines and seemingly ahead of the pack in most of their chosen endeavors.
 
At UC Davis, it didn't hurt that administrators and female student-athletes got a head start on equality.
 
Next up: In 1952, she was the first female varsity letter winner at what was called the College of Agriculture at Davis. Competing on the male-dominated Aggie Rifle Team, Audrey West (neé Hall) talks about her experience as the third-best "rifleman" in the nation. This Aggie pioneer, now 90 years old, talks about what it was like to outshoot members of both the U.S. Military and Naval academies, VMI and 125 teams of mostly men in 1953.