Learn more about the history of women's athletics at Elon by visiting the new exhibit in the Archives Reading Room on the second floor of Belk Library.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Elon University Archives has created an exhibit on the history of women’s athletics at Elon in the Archives Reading Room on the second floor of Belk Library. The exhibit was designed by archives student assistant Kayden Poteat ’27.
It’s commonly believed that women’s athletics didn’t begin at Elon until the 1970s. This misconception likely stems from the fact that women’s intercollegiate sports officially began in 1971, but records of women’s participation in athletics at Elon go as far back as 1913. These early teams were likely intramural and interclass teams, like the women’s basketball team pictured from Elon’s first yearbook from 1913. Little documentation of women’s athletics was saved up until the 1970s, and throughout Elon’s history there has been much less emphasis on the importance of women’s athletics as compared to men’s. This has erased valuable historical knowledge on the many contributions women have made to athletics on campus.
In the artifacts and documents that Elon has retained, the women’s basketball team is the most well-documented. Thus, the exhibit focuses heavily on the history of women’s basketball, starting in 1913. Moving into the 1970s, the Yow sisters—Kay, Debbie, and Susan—all got their start at Elon. Debbie and Susan Yow were members of Elon’s inaugural women’s basketball team, while Kay Yow was Elon’s first women’s basketball coach, leading the team to success between 1971 and 1975. Each of the Yows would go on to become celebrated head women’s basketball coaches at universities across the country, and Kay and Susan would coach the 1988 Olympic women’s team to gold. Kay and Susan were inducted into the Elon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986 and 1993 respectively, and Debbie was awarded the Elon Medallion in 2021. All three sisters were inducted to the NC Sports Hall of Fame between 1989 and 2016.
Another key figure in Elon women’s basketball history was Venessa Corbett, a star basketball player between 1977 and 1982. During her time at Elon she recorded 2,430 career points, a school record that has gone untouched by any athlete since. She was also inducted into the Elon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.
The exhibit also highlights the women’s soccer and volleyball teams, with two autographed artifacts from the 1999 soccer team and the 2003 volleyball team. Both teams participated in conference championships, with women’s soccer winning the Big South Conference Championship final, marking their first participation in in NCAA National Championships in 1999. The volleyball team finished in the top five of the 2003 Southern Conference championship.
This exhibit offers just a small insight into the long and complex history of women’s athletics at Elon.
For more information on how to preserve records, documents, artifacts and more, please contact University Archives and Special Collections at belkarchives@elon.edu.