INDIANAPOLIS – Missouri S&T has been chosen as the 2018 recipient of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Dr. Joseph J. McGowan Visionary Award, the Conference office announced Friday.
Named after Dr. Joseph J. McGowan, President at Bellarmine University for 26 years who passed away on March 1, 2016, this award is presented annually to the GLVC institution that displays vision and exemplary programming to promote and advance the student-athlete experience.
Missouri S&T was selected for its “Pioneers of Miner Women’s Athletics” program, an event that occurred during Homecoming festivities on Oct. 28, 2017, and featured members of the university’s first volleyball and women’s basketball teams, which began play during the 1974-75 academic year.
It was an event to celebrate not only the passion that fueled the development of greater opportunities for women to compete in sports at the collegiate level, but the 45th anniversary of Title IX as well. During that afternoon, the 16 individuals of those teams and the team’s head coach, Annette Caruso-Howatt, were provided an opportunity to meet with the university’s current women’s student-athletes at a reception held prior to the S&T football game.
The group was recognized at halftime of the football game and then was in attendance at the S&T volleyball game later that afternoon prior to a banquet to honor the former student-athletes. As part of the banquet, the honorees were also fitted for letter jackets, which had been provided for the lettermen of the men’s teams during that period of time but not for the women’s letter winners.
The reception and dinner featured Missouri S&T Chancellor Dr. Christopher Maples as well as Miner faculty, staff, and coaches. Also in attendance was Mayor Louis J. Magdits IV, who read a proclamation declaring it “Pioneers of Miner Women’s Athletics Day” in the city of Rolla.
The reception was capped by a speech from Caruso-Howatt that tied the past to the present and reminded the current student-athletes to “keep carrying the torch” for women’s athletics.
Needless to say, it left an impact.
“I didn’t realize how privileged we were until we met them,” said Carlie Combs, a junior on the Missouri S&T volleyball team. “They were talking about things like not having their own trainer or their own locker room and compared to what we have, it was amazing in that they paved the way for us and what we have today.
“Coach Caruso-Howatt came in to speak to us and gave this powerful, inspiring speech that made me want to go out and become the next woman president. It was an incredible experience to meet these women that are so driven and accomplished. When they talked to us, they inspired us to fight for what we have and continue to make strides – not just for ourselves, but for the women who will be in our shoes 10 or 20 years down the road. That’s the drive to keep us motivated to do well – to do it for the next generation.”
This past January, “Pioneers of Miner Women’s Athletics” made Missouri S&T a finalist for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence, an honor that recognizes positive campus and community engagement efforts during the past year.