Title IX radically altered the sports landscape, but not all at once and not without resistance. In the early years of the statute, the “forgotten heroes” challenged bias and championed equality—and the impact is still felt today. Read more about Title IX’s pioneers to remember here.
A lifelong gym rat who had parlayed her hoops passion into a career as a player and coach, Jenny Boucek was 33 before she discovered the pioneer who arguably made it all possible.
That would be Lusia Harris: the first woman to score a basket in the Olympics (1976), the only woman ever drafted by an NBA team (’77) and the first female college player inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (’92).