Introduction
In 1972, Title IX, which stated that no person could be excluded from the participation of any education program based on sex, was effectively enacted by the U.S. Congress. This was the start of women’s sports, especially at Trinity University, where they had just hired what would soon be one of the greatest assets to Trinity’s women’s sports program. Libby Johnson came to Trinity University in 1972, where she served as the director of women’s athletics. Johnson took the lead in raising money and awareness for women’s sports until her retirement in 1980. Even though Title IX had been already been enacted, the process of women gaining equality was a slow one. During the 1970s, Coach Libby Johnson was the sole role model and advocate of women’s sports at Trinity through her coaching abilities and the power she gained as an assistant athletic director.
Libby Johnson first came to Trinity University in 1972 where she joined the health and P.E department as an assistant professor (Trinitonian 1972, p 2). Before arriving at Trinity, Johnson was the head coach of the women’s volleyball, basketball, tennis and men’s golf team at St. Mary’s University, where she resided there for five years (Trinitonian 1980, p 17). While at St. Mary’s, Coach Johnson started St. Mary’s first ever women’s basketball program in 1968 where the team competed against other teams throughout San Antonio (Rattler Athletics | St. Mary's University, 2016). Not only being able to coach a women’s team, but let alone start one, was a difficult task during this time as Title IX was not yet implemented. The West Texas native graduated with a bachelor’s degree from McMurry College in Abilene, TX in 1963 where she played for the school’s women’s tennis team. Once arriving at Trinity, Johnson took over the women’s volleyball, basketball, softball, and track and field teams (Trinity University, 2011). Even though Title IX had just been passed that year, anyone could see that Johnson was going to have an uphill battle to fight.