Title IX. with the 50th anniversary of On the horizon, here’s a look at some of the women who, thanks to the law, played college sports and took advantage of this opportunity off the field. Some women use competitive skills Learned to play the game to become chief executive officer, commissioner and start your own companies:
Gail Kojiara Boudroux
Athletic career: Dartmouth basketball, 1978–1982. He is still the career scoring and rebounding leader with 1,933 points and 1,635 rebounds in 89 games. Three-time Ivy League Player of the Year who led Big Green to first place in multiple league titles. Also the Ivy League shot kept the champ for four consecutive years, earning All-American recognition as a senior.
Professional Career: Boudreaux earned an MBA at Columbia Business School and led several businesses. She is the former CEO of United Healthcare and in 2017 she co-founded Fortune 500 company Anthem, Inc. took over as the President and CEO of
At Title IX: Boudreaux played for the Massachusetts state champion in basketball at high school who could not practice in his gym. “We had to go to middle school to practice so Title IX wasn’t really being implemented then,” she said.
That’s why paying it forward meant so much that Boudreaux ended up taking up the women’s basketball coaching position at Dartmouth. His company has partnered with four WNBA teams for community outreach programs.
genie guilder
Athletic career: Two-time Olympian, 1980, 1984. He won a silver medal in rowing, 1984. The All-American Rover at Yale, 1975–1979. His most notable achievement as a rower in college may have been his participation in the famous “Yale Strip-In” to protest the inequalities in the school’s treatment of men and women rowers.
Business Career: MBA from Washington in 1991. Gilder founded Washington Works, a Seattle foundation focused on helping women receiving public aid, in the 1990s. In 2004, Gilder became CEO and founder of Office for Growth, a family investment office. She remains the principal of the company. Managing member of Force 10 Enterprises, owner of Force 10 Hoops, Seattle Storm of the WNBA and Force 10 Sports Marketing.
On Title IX: “In my career, what I learned was that no matter what the odds are, no one thinks you can’t do something or that you shouldn’t be allowed to. If so, then you have to go for it.”
MICHEL BROKE-MARCINIAK
Athletic Career: Gatorade National Player of the Year, 1991. He played basketball at Notre Dame in 1991–92, relocating to Tennessee in 1993–1996. Brooke-Marciniac played in two national championship games, helping coach Pat Summitt win a fourth national title in 1996. She was the MVP of the 1996 Final Four. The point guard also played in the American Basketball League and WNBA for three seasons.
Business career: Recruiting coordinator and assistant coach for women’s basketball in South Carolina, 2003–2008. She worked with coach Susan Valvius to found her own company, Sheeks, in 2007 using performance fabric materials for bed linens and sleepwear. Brooke-Marcinek remains co-CEO with Volvius. Their products are sold nationally with plans for further development internationally.
On Title IX: Everyone who played for Summit learned the history of Title IX, how the game developed and the history of those who came before it. As the Gatorade National Player of the Year, Brooke-Marcinek shared a magazine centerpiece with Chris Webber when both were playing for national titles in college.
“They lost theirs. We got ours in Tennessee. So then we go to the pros, and Chris comes in with a $14 million salary. And I think my first salary was $21,000. We’re on the same track.” We should have equal, you know, equality. But the pay discrepancy was rampant, and it still is.”
Jackie McWilliams
Athletic career: Hampton Basketball and Volleyball, 1987–1991. He helped Hampton win the NCAA Division II basketball title in 1988 as freshman of the year. McWilliams was voted Player of the Year for CIAA Volleyball in 1990.
Business career: Earned a master’s degree at Temple, coached volleyball at Virginia Union and later became the first female assistant on the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball team. Worked in Athletic Administration at CIAA as Director of Compliance and Championships. McWilliams moved to the NCAA in 2003 and served as director of championships and alliances. Appointed as the CIAA’s first black woman commissioner in 2012.
On Title IX: “I think there’s still a way to go. I want to see more women, more women of color, black women in roles of opportunity, and that access. And we still have work to do there.” “
Meg Whitman
Athletic career: Played basketball, lacrosse, tennis, and captained the high school swim team. Played squash and lacrosse at Princeton in 1975–1977.
Business Career: Started in 1979 as Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble. Consultant at Bain & Company. She was vice president of strategic planning for The Walt Disney Company and then DreamWorks, Procter & Gamble and Hasbro. As CEO of eBay Inc., he operated the budding startup from 1998 to 2008 with 30 employees. Whitman took over as CEO of Hewlett-Packard in 2011. He oversaw the break-up of the company, with Whitman continuing to lead HPE until it was stepped down until late. 2017. Bought an ownership stake in MLS, 2019 with her husband in Cincinnati FC. President Biden named him as ambassador to Kenya in December 2021.
On Title IX: “I like team sports best. When I’m pulling together a business team, I still use basketball words I learned as a young person: ‘Come on Let’s pass the ball a little before game time. ‘Do we need to defend man or territory from man?'” Whitman wrote in his book “The Power of Manny.”
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For more on the impact of Title IX, check out the full package of the Associated Press: https://apnews.com/hub/title-ix Video Timeline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdgNI6BZpw0
