National Girls & Women in Sports Day Event Action Kit
Charlotte, NC – For the second consecutive year, the NJCAA will team up with its member institutions to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day (Tweet #NGWSD). On Wednesday, February 6, the association will take to social media to celebrate past and present females that have helped shape the history of the NJCAA.
To honor and promote the extraordinary females throughout the NJCAA, the association is planning a social media push throughout the day using the hashtag Tweet #NJCAA4NGWSD.
"The NJCAA has a long history of pioneering opportunities for females in sport. As a former collegiate student-athlete, this is very inspiring," stated McKenzie Garrison, NJCAA Marketing and Communications Associate. "As the first association to establish a women's division in collegiate athletics, the NJCAA has led the way for many females to pursue their athletic and academic dreams."
2019 marks the 33rd annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day, a yearly celebration that has empowered women and girls to get moving, reap the benefits of physical activity, and push past their limits both in sports and in life. This year's NGWSD theme is Lead Her Forward, to honor the many ways that sports push girls and women to achieve excellence and realize their boundless potential.
Member schools, student-athletes, and fans are encouraged to take to social media throughout the day, using the Tweet #NJCAA4NGWSD and Tweet #NGWSD hashtags to highlight the success of female student-athletes throughout the NJCAA, both past and present.
"As an association, the NJCAA is all about providing opportunities," Garrison added. "By taking part in National Girls & Women in Sports Day, we hope to share stories of the remarkable women who have made an impact on the NJCAA. Showcasing the talents of our female student-athletes on a national level will help to provide these future opportunities for women in athletics and in their professional lives."
To see a recap from the NJCAA's National Girls & Women in Sports Day celebration from 2018: National Girls & Women in Sports Day recap
For more information on National Girls & Women in Sports Day and how you can get involved, visit: National Girls & Women in Sports Day
For more information how you can get involved, contact McKenzie Garrison, NJCAA Marketing & Communications Associate: mgarrison@njcaa.org
Historical female moments throughout the NJCAA
June 23, 1972: President Richard Nixon implements Title IX, a law that George E. Killian saw as an opportunity for the NJCAA to grow and added the Presidents' Special Study Committee to analyze the prospect of adding a separate division for women in the NJCAA.
December 1974: CCBC Catonsville hosts the first NJCAA Women's Volleyball Invitational Championship in Baltimore, MD. The championship is the first held for women by a coed national collegiate athletics organization.
March 1975: The NJCAA establishes the first women's division for collegiate athletics in the United States.
November 1975: The NJCAA Women's Volleyball Championship becomes the first championship held for women by a national coed collegiate organization.
March 1990: Elected as the 13th President of the NJCAA, Lea Plarski from St. Louis-Florissant Valley (Mo.) becomes the first female to hold the office.
June 1990: Former Roane State (TN) women's basketball player Bernadette Mattox becomes the first female assistant coach for an NCAA Division I men's basketball team under Kentucky head coach Rick Pitino.
April 1993: Former NJCAA All-American and 1991 NJCAA Player of the Year Sheryl Swoopes from South Plains (TX) is named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament after leading Texas Tech to its first national championship.
April 1995: The NJCAA adds Division II for women's basketball, cross country, and soccer.
July 2009: Interim Executive Director Mary Ellen Leicht is appointed as the third Executive Director of the NJCAA. Leicht becomes the first female chief executive of any intercollegiate athletics organization in the United States.
March 2018: The NJCAA partners with Women Leaders in College Sports, the nation's premier women's athletic leadership association that develops, connects, and advances women working in intercollegiate athletics.