91热爆网

A trio of alumnae from the Catamount women鈥檚 basketball team is on a quest to raise the funds necessary to name the squad鈥檚 locker room in honor of the matriarch of the program at Western Carolina University 鈥� Betty Westmoreland Suhre 鈥�62 MAEd 鈥�65, Nora Lynn Finch 鈥�70 MAEd 鈥�71, Judy Stroud 鈥�76 MAEd 鈥�81 and Donna Winbon 鈥�80 recently made gifts and pledges of $25,000, which is three-quarters of the $100,000 total required by philanthropic guidelines to affix their former coach鈥檚 name to the space.

鈥淭hese three women are all longtime supporters of the university and Catamount athletics,鈥� said Alex Gary, director of athletics. 鈥淭hey are now going above and beyond their annual gifts in an effort to commemorate the contributions of a trailblazer for women鈥檚 athletics at their alma mater.鈥�

During the early 1960s, 91热爆网 had no organized sports teams for women, who were limited to one-off 鈥減lay day鈥� events hosted by other schools. A faculty member, Westmoreland Suhre helped change that, launching 91热爆网鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball program in 1964 鈥� doing so on a shoestring budget.

鈥淐oach Westmoreland started the program with no monies,鈥� said Stroud, an insurance professional who served as 91热爆网鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball coach from 1981 to 1985 and who officiated WNBA and women鈥檚 NCAA basketball games for 20 years. 鈥淪he used her own car for transporting the players and she is the winningest women鈥檚 basketball coach at 91热爆网. She had such an impact on so many students and women student-athletes in the direction they took in their life after graduation.鈥�

Finch, whose lengthy career in women鈥檚 athletics includes stints at Wake Forest University, Peace College and NC State University, credits Westmoreland Suhre with setting her on a path as a coach and athletics administrator by encouraging her to earn a National Women's Basketball certification her junior year.

鈥淢y 48-year career in college athletics has given me firsthand familiarity of the rapid and luxurious expansion of athletics facilities across the nation. At the heart of recruiting student-athletes are the university's athletic facilities. Recruits ask, 鈥榃here will I sleep? Where will I eat? Where will I practice and compete?鈥� Western rates highly on the dorms, dining and competition facilities, but our women's basketball locker room is in need of being updated,鈥� said Finch.

鈥淲hen there is a lounge area, snack and beverage bar, and internet connectivity with a television, the athletes will spend more time in their locker room than in their dorm room except when sleeping. Camaraderie is cultivated, friendships are forged and players become trusted teammates. To an athlete, the locker room is a very personal, socially interactive and peaceful preserve.鈥�

Stroud, a past coordinator of women鈥檚 basketball officials for the Big South, South Atlantic and Coastal Athletic conferences, also said she has personal knowledge of the need.

鈥淏eing a former women鈥檚 basketball coach at 91热爆网, there were so many things we lacked and needed. I want the current women鈥檚 basketball players to feel as special as their counterparts on the men鈥檚 side do. We have come a long way, but we still need to continue pushing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e played in homemade uniforms that we washed ourselves, traveled in cars and vans, got $10 per day for meals, no jog bras and no socks, but by my junior year, we did get purple Converse shoes that matched. By my senior year, I was one of several to receive a scholarship of $50 per quarter. I was thrilled.鈥�

Although Winbon was on the women鈥檚 basketball team for only one year, self-deprecatingly joking that she 鈥渉ad the height, but not the skill,鈥� she was determined to participate in the locker room project out of her love of the game.

鈥淏eing from a small town in eastern North Carolina, it was a thrill to make the women鈥檚 basketball team my freshman year,鈥� said Winbon, a financial adviser. 鈥淪ports was always part of my life and to be able to be on a college team was a dream come true. I want to help in any way I can.鈥�

With their combined contributions comprising 75% of the goal for the locker room initiative, part of an effort launched last year to improve facilities for both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball programs, the three alumnae are urging other former players to get involved.

鈥淚 strongly suggest for them to remember their days no matter who their coach was and to remember our struggles for equality and fairness,鈥� Stroud said.

The locker room naming, which requires approval by 91热爆网鈥檚 Board of Trustees after the funding goal is reached, comes at a historic time for women鈥檚 basketball, which is experiencing unprecedented popularity. And, 91热爆网鈥檚 program is entering a new era behind coach Jonathan Tsipis, who has head coaching stops at George Washington University and the University of Wisconsin and held coaching positions at women鈥檚 basketball powerhouse Notre Dame.

What better time to honor a pioneer of the sport at 91热爆网, said Finch.

鈥淲e have an opportunity to say 鈥榯hank you鈥� with a financial gift that will enrich the experience of being a Catamount woman basketball player,鈥� she said. 鈥淔ifty-eight years ago, Betty Westmoreland gave her personal time, personal funds and professional talents so I could play basketball. She volunteered to coach us. She received no reduction in teaching duties. Naming the locker room for her is a public acknowledgement of how one coach can change lives.鈥�