Title IX "Two Bits" for Tennessee
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If the circumstance were playing out in another era — their era — it would all look much different.
Who are we kidding? Such recognition was not even fathomable in that era.
"We didn't get the hoopla that the guys did," Cherietta Prince said.
That's putting it it mildly. Sue Halfacre wasn't nearly as diplomatic.
"I should have been born 50 years later," Halfacre said. "Nowadays, they get shoes, socks, hats, sweat suits and bathing suits. We had to buy our own stuff. Hell, we didn't even get our own Gatorade."
Yet, that was how the foundation was laid. Such are the sacrifices of pioneers. When Title IX was signed by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972 it made no mention of athletics, but it did order the Department of Health Education and Welfare to prevent discrimination in federally funded education programs. Women's athletics were born.
Three months before the passing of the law, then-Athletic Director Ray Graves announced UF would field women's teams in golf, gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis and track, with an operating budget of $16,000, and compete in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).
The Lady Gators (their name at the time) turn 50 this year and as part of the half-century celebration the UAA will honor the golden anniversary with a trio of female trailblazers suiting up as ceremonial "Ms. Two Bits" when No. 11 UF (2-1, 0-1) takes on Tennessee (2-1, 0-0) in a key Southeastern Conference game Saturday night at Spurrier/Florida Field.
The participants:
* Prince not only was on the first UF women's track team (as a long-jumper, high-jumper and sprinter), but was also the first African-American female to compete in a Florida uniform.
* Halfacre, a 1991 UF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, was a member of the first Florida women's swim team three-time All American, while doubling as the team's head coach from 1973-76. Halfacre became the first female Gator to claim an individual national title when she won the 400-meter freestyle at the 1973 AIAW championships.
* Nancy Thayer came to UF in 1971 and was on the first gymnastics team. The program had its early struggles, but in its 10th season won the first women's team championship in Lady Gators history by capturing the 1982 AIAW crown.
Together, they'll join the likes of swimmer Dara Torres, softball standouts Hannah Rogers and Stacey Nelson, and gymnast Bridget Sloan as women to take a turn at "Two Bits." And they'll appreciate the the honor and tradition of the moment, considering the original "Mr. Two Bits," George Edmondson, was in his cheering and chanting prime when the Lady Gators were just getting started.
"I remember thinking, 'Who is that crazy man?' " said Halfacre, now 69. "I won't be able to run around like that, but I know I'll at least be able to blow a whistle and quiet the crowd."
"I was always amazed at that man and how he could run around and jump like that," said Prince, 66. "I can still jump a little bit, so we'll see how it goes."
Here's betting it'll going tremendously, with some 90,000 fans cheering a trio of trailblazers who set the stage for future female generations. Let the record show that Florida women in the last 50 years have won 135 SEC championships, 20 national crowns and 179 individual titles.
Here's to you, ladies. The three on the field Saturday and all their orange-and-blue sisters along the way.
"When you were the first at something, that'll always be a big deal," Prince said.
Who are we kidding? Such recognition was not even fathomable in that era.
"We didn't get the hoopla that the guys did," Cherietta Prince said.
That's putting it it mildly. Sue Halfacre wasn't nearly as diplomatic.
"I should have been born 50 years later," Halfacre said. "Nowadays, they get shoes, socks, hats, sweat suits and bathing suits. We had to buy our own stuff. Hell, we didn't even get our own Gatorade."
Yet, that was how the foundation was laid. Such are the sacrifices of pioneers. When Title IX was signed by President Richard Nixon on June 23, 1972 it made no mention of athletics, but it did order the Department of Health Education and Welfare to prevent discrimination in federally funded education programs. Women's athletics were born.
Three months before the passing of the law, then-Athletic Director Ray Graves announced UF would field women's teams in golf, gymnastics, swimming and diving, tennis and track, with an operating budget of $16,000, and compete in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).
The Lady Gators (their name at the time) turn 50 this year and as part of the half-century celebration the UAA will honor the golden anniversary with a trio of female trailblazers suiting up as ceremonial "Ms. Two Bits" when No. 11 UF (2-1, 0-1) takes on Tennessee (2-1, 0-0) in a key Southeastern Conference game Saturday night at Spurrier/Florida Field.
* Prince not only was on the first UF women's track team (as a long-jumper, high-jumper and sprinter), but was also the first African-American female to compete in a Florida uniform.
* Halfacre, a 1991 UF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, was a member of the first Florida women's swim team three-time All American, while doubling as the team's head coach from 1973-76. Halfacre became the first female Gator to claim an individual national title when she won the 400-meter freestyle at the 1973 AIAW championships.
* Nancy Thayer came to UF in 1971 and was on the first gymnastics team. The program had its early struggles, but in its 10th season won the first women's team championship in Lady Gators history by capturing the 1982 AIAW crown.
Together, they'll join the likes of swimmer Dara Torres, softball standouts Hannah Rogers and Stacey Nelson, and gymnast Bridget Sloan as women to take a turn at "Two Bits." And they'll appreciate the the honor and tradition of the moment, considering the original "Mr. Two Bits," George Edmondson, was in his cheering and chanting prime when the Lady Gators were just getting started.
"I remember thinking, 'Who is that crazy man?' " said Halfacre, now 69. "I won't be able to run around like that, but I know I'll at least be able to blow a whistle and quiet the crowd."
"I was always amazed at that man and how he could run around and jump like that," said Prince, 66. "I can still jump a little bit, so we'll see how it goes."
Here's betting it'll going tremendously, with some 90,000 fans cheering a trio of trailblazers who set the stage for future female generations. Let the record show that Florida women in the last 50 years have won 135 SEC championships, 20 national crowns and 179 individual titles.
Here's to you, ladies. The three on the field Saturday and all their orange-and-blue sisters along the way.
"When you were the first at something, that'll always be a big deal," Prince said.
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