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Northwest College Women's Sports Association records, 1940-2013

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Northwest College Women's Sports Association
Title
Northwest College Women's Sports Association records
Dates
1940-2013 (inclusive)
Quantity
10.0 linear feet of shelf space, (22 containers)
Collection Number
Cage 795 (collection)
Summary
The Northwest College Women's Sports Association (NCWSA) Records contains the administrative files for the body governing intercollegiate women's athletics in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington from 1966-1982. In addition, a handful of colleges from British Columbia also participated in the NCWSA. This collection contains meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, policies and rules governing student athletes and individual sports, and results and programs for NCWSA sanctioned tournaments. The collection also provides information about the impact of Title IX on women's athletics.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Northwest College Women's Sports Association was founded in 1966 as the Northwest College Women's Extramural Association. The formation of this regional organization was part of a larger movement to create a more formally organized system for women's intercollegiate athletics by the Division of Girls' and Women's Sports (DGWS). On April 14, 1966, the organization was officially formed in Boise, Idaho and Catherine "Kit" Green of the University of Washington was named the organization's first President (then called "Chairman"). The first constitution for the organization, passed in April 1967, stated that the organization's purpose was "to promote and coordinate Northwest extramural events for college women" and "to establish and maintain desirable standards for these extramural events." In the 1966-1967 academic year, the NCWEA sanctioned events in badminton, basketball, bowling, dance, field hockey, gymnastics, riflery, skiing, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. Initial membership consisted of 44 colleges.

In 1970, the organization changed its name to the Northwest College Women's Sports Association and Sue Durrant was the first president under this new title. In 1973, the NCWSA suspended the restriction against athletic scholarships, a position held by many women's sports organizations prior to a ruling declaring such provisions in violation of newly enacted Title IX. In 1975, the NCWSA officially joined the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), becoming Region 9 of the emerging national organization. By 1979, the NCWSA grew to the point that a home office was considered, but by 1982, the organization faced serious losses in membership due to increased efforts by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (the main rival to the AIAW) to govern women's athletics. While it is unclear exactly when the NCWSA ended operations, the organization seems to have folded in 1982. After the organization ended operations, its funds were used to form the Northwest College Women's Sports Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting female college student athletes in the region.

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Content Description

This collection contains the bylaws, policies, meeting minutes and agendas, correspondence, and tournament results for the Northwest College Women's Sports Association, which was Region 9 of the AIAW from 1975-1983. The meeting minutes include notes from the annual general meeting, the Executive Committee, the Governing Committee, and the committee for tournaments and scheduling. The collection also contains newsletters and the correspondence for nearly every Association President from 1966-1983. In addition, materials pertaining to women's sports in the Northwest prior to the NCWSA are contained in this collection. Documents in the collection deal with everything from details on rules and eligibility to broader issues regarding the implementation of Title IX and the need for an organization dedicated solely to the advancement of women's collegiate sports.

Series 1: Policies and Bylaws, 1966-1983. This series consists of the constitutions, bylaws, policy handbooks, and member directories for the NCWSA.

Series 2: Communications, 1966-1983. This series consists of the correspondence of past presidents of the NCWSA, with the exception of the 1975-1976 academic years. This series also includes issues of the Association newsletter and statements on Title IX from 1980.

Series 3: Meetings and Reports, 1941-1996. This series consists of two subseries: Annual Meetings and Budgets and Reports

Subseries 1: Annual Meetings, 1964-1996. This subseries consists of agendas, budgets, notes, and correspondence for the annual meetings of the NCWSA. It also includes materials related to the organization's 30th year reunion in 1996.

Subseries 2: Budgets and Reports, 1941-1983. This subseries consists of the NCWSA general operating budgets, reports from meetings of the AIAW and Commission for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW), historical documents about women's collegiate sports in the Northwest, and reports and proposals submitted to the NCWSA.

Series 4: Committees, 1967-1983. This series consists of minutes, agendas, correspondence, and support materials for the following committees: Executive, Governing, Student, Ethics and Eligibility, Awards, and Sports Advisors. The Governing Committee would occasionally run surveys or studies, which have been interfiled with the committee meeting files. Tournament schedules and arrangements were determined by the Sports Advisors Committee and their support materials are filed after their meeting files.

Series 5: Sports, 1940-1982. This series consists of programs, regulations, correspondence, results, and historical documents related to specific sports governed by the NCWSA. Sports included are: badminton, basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, gymnastics, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.

Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1971-1982. This series consists of materials on athletic director workshops, officiating services, financial aid regulations, and external sports governing bodies.

Series 7: Northwest College Women's Sports Foundation, 1978-2013. This series consists of files created by the Northwest Women's College Sports Foundation, which was created to support femal college student athletes in the Pacific Northwest. The organization was founded in 1982 after the dissolution of the NCWSA. The organization’s primary activity was to award scholarships to female student athletes. In 1995, the NCWSF sponsored talks about the history of the NCWSA at the national convention for the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). The organization dissolved in 2013.

Series 8: Northwest College Women's Sports Association History Project, 1964-2003. This series consists of the administrative files for an oral history project on the Northwest College Women's Sports Association. The bulk of the series consists of the transcripts of the oral histories and the audio cassette tapes on which the interviews were recorded. The series also contains background materials for the oral histories including research materials, correspondence, and information about the methods used to conduct the oral histories.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

Northwest College Women's Sports Association Records, 1940-2013 (Cage 795)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The documents in this collection are arranged in eight series. Subseries 3.1 is organized in reverse chronological order. Subseries 3.2 is arranged according to groupings found in the collection's original arrangement. Each committees files in Series 4 are arranged in reverse chronological order. Series 5 is arranged according to sport.

Acquisition Information

The Northwest College Women's Sports Association Records was donated to Washington State University by Sue Durant in 2013 (MS 2013-13).

Processing Note

This collection was processed by Steven Bingo in 2013.

Related Materials

Sue M. Durrant Papers, 1956-2006 (Cage 711)

Washington State University Gender Equity Lawsuit Papers, 1969-2007 (Cage 954)

Preliminary Guide to the Joanne Washburn Papers, 1921-2001 (MS 2005.06)

Centennial Oral History Project Oral Histories, 1982-1988 (Archives 202)

Washington State University History 398 (History of Women in the American West) Student Projects, 1996-2005 (Archives 262)

Washington State University Womens Physical Education Department Records, 1973-1981 (Archives 300)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College athletes -- Northwest, Pacific
  • College sports -- Northwest, Pacific -- Management
  • Women athletes -- Northwest, Pacific
  • Women coaches (Athletics)

Corporate Names

  • Northwest College Women's Sports Association -- Archives
  • United States. Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX.
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