Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, who serves as the Faculty Athletics Representative for the University of Minnesota to the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA, was appointed to the Academics and Eligibility Committee (AEC) for the Big Ten Conference.
Zan Gao, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory, was recently appointed to be an associate editor to the editorial board of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Gao has served as the Editorial Board Member of this journal since 2015. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, an official journal of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, is a top-rated Springer Nature journal and is devoted to furthering the understanding of the behavioral aspects of diet and physical activity. It is unique in its inclusion of multiple levels of analysis—including populations, groups, and individuals—as well as its inclusion of epidemiology and behavioral, theoretical, and measurement research areas. The journal’s 2-year impact factor (2021) is 8.915.
The New York Historical Society has interviewed Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, for an article, “A Title IX Conundrum: Women in Coaching” looking at the impact of Title IX on women in coaching. LaVoi talks about the history of women in coaching, the advent of Title IX and its impact, how things have changed since then, what the Tucker Center is doing, and about her vision of the future for women in coaching.
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Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, will be inducted into the Gustavus Adolphus Hall of Fame at a banquet ceremony on October 29, 2022. LaVoi, who played tennis at Gustavus, will be inducted as a benefactor and joins eight other Gustavus Athletics standouts.
With the publication of the most recent and 10th anniversary Women in College Coaching Report Card™ (WCCRC) series’ “Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A comprehensive report on NCAA Division-I institutions, 2021-22,” FOX News interviewed the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sports‘ Hannah Silva Breen, TC research assistant and 2022-23 Pam Borton Fellow for the Promotion of Girls and Women in Sport Leadership. In the news piece, “Title IX’s impact on Minnesota coaching,” Silva Breen notes that while we are in the 50th anniversary year of the passage of Title IX and are seeing some gains, she also highlights some of the areas of concern that still need to be addressed.
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The 2021-22 Women in College Coaching Report Card™ (WCCRC) marks the 10th year of the Tucker Center‘s collaboration with WeCOACH on the report card project. Data in this latest report, “Head coaches of women’s collegiate teams: A comprehensive report on NCAA Division-I institutions, 2021-22,” and over the last ten years of the WCCRC, documents longitudinal patterns of percentages of women head coaches within NCAA Division-I athletics.
Data this year points to some good news indicating that the percentage of women head coaches of NCAA D-I women’s teams in Select 7 conferences is up again (43.7%) for the eighth year in a row, and for the fourth year in a row for all NCAA D-I women’s teams (43.4%).
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, will join other Title IX luminaries at a Capitol Hill event to celebrate Title IX and announce a new bill, the Fair Play for Women Act of 2022, designed to strengthen Title IX through better education, transparency, and reporting and enforcement. This live event, sponsored by VoiceInSport™, features athletes, activists, coaches, leaders and Title IX leaders in panel format to discuss the history of Title IX, the current inequities that exist for high school and college athletes, and to preview legislation.
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Mary Jo Kane, PhD, School of Kinesiology professor emerita and director emerita and founder of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, is quoted in “What strong softball, basketball ratings could mean for women’s sports on TV” [paywall] on the popularity and rising trajectory of women’s sports viewership. Kane foresees future lucrative NCAA television deals packaging popular women’s sports for viewing.
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in an article appear in NBCSports.com’s “On Her Turf.” The article, “Powerful Title IX report reveals reporting loopholes and roster manipulation in women’s college sports,” highlights a newly released USA Today report, “Title IX: Falling short at 50,” showing how—50 years on—some colleges and universities remain non-compliant with the landmark 1972 law. LaVoi comments that after 50 years, if collegiate athletic directors and presidents actually wanted to be in compliance, then they ought to have already had enough time to be so.
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An article appearing in Sports Illustrated, “50 Years of Title IX: How One Law Changed Women’s Sports Forever,” mentions a 2002 Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport distinguished lecture featuring Mariah Burton Nelson speaking on “Five Life Lessons from the Playing Field: How Sports Are Transforming Women, Girls, and Society.” The SI article notes a negative take on Title IX from a former U of M coach.
Dr. Alicia Johnson, a former Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport intern and current director of the University of Oshkosh-Wisconsin’s Women’s Center, will present at the May 23, 2022 Grace Farms Foundation / UN WOMEN Ending Violence Against Women Section / NO MORE Foundation conference “Victory over Violence: Addressing Violence against Women and girls in & through Sports” [registration]. Dr. Johnson was a member of 2009 cohort of the Tucker Center’s Gender Equity Summer Internship Program, now in its 13th year. She has held the position of Director at the University of Oshkosh-Wisconsin’s Women’s Center since 2016. Dr. Johnson will participate in a panel presentation entitled “Comprehensive Essential Services and Support for Survivors.”
In an interview with KARE 11—”US Women’s Soccer Players Will Finally Receive Equal Pay“—Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, spoke with KARE 11 on US Soccer equal pay deal and how it can be a game changer.
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, will give a talk at the annual espnW Summit in New York City on May 4. LaVoi joins many other standout women in women’s sports including Eileen Gu, freestyle skier and 2022 Olympic gold medalist, Sabrina Ionescu and Didi Richards of the WNBA New York Liberty, and Julie Foudy, espnW columnist and commentator and World Cup Champion. More information is available at the Summit website here: https://nyc.espnwsummit.com/ .
Tucker Center director Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, and director emerita Mary Jo Kane, PhD, have been selected to give keynote addresses for the local Athena Awards. LaVoi will speak at the St. Paul Area Athena Awards ceremony on April 20, at Vadnais Heights Commons, and Kane will speak at the Minneapolis Athena Awards program on May 6, at the Earle Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center.
The article in Hometownsource.com, “Athena Awards put spotlight on female athletes,” outlines a number of athletes from Apple Valley, Eagan, Eastview, Farmington, Lakeville North, Lakeville South, Rosemount and Trinity at River Ridge high schools.
This year the annual events coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Title IX, which outlawed discrimination based on gender in education programs or activities in institutions that receive federal financial assistance. Coming under the Title IX umbrella were public school districts and more than 5,000 postsecondary institutions.
In an MPR News article and audiocast, “NCAA Women’s Final Four comes to Minneapolis, showcasing strides in equity,” Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, is interviewed about the branding and resources increasingly available to women’s sports.
Listen here…
Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and senior lecturer, School of Kinesiology, hosted a panel discussion of the Tucker Center’s 2022 Film Festival video, “LFG.” Panelists included Dr. Rachel Allison, author, “Kicking Center: Gender and the Selling of Women’s Professional Soccer”; Dr. Missy Price, vice president, Women’s Soccer for the United Soccer League; and Dr. Tarlan Chahardovali, postdoctoral research scholar, Global Sport Institute. Listen to the podcast…
Dr. Nicole M. LaVoi, director, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, and senior lecturer, School of Kinesiology, hosted a panel discussion of the new report, “DisruptHERS: Driving a new model of women’s sports.” Panelists included Dr. Nancy Lough, co-director, Sport Research & Innovation Institute, and professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Dr. Ceyda Mumcu, associate Professor and chair, Sport Management Department, University of New Haven; Dr. Dunja Antunovic, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota; Dr. Katie Lebel, assistant professor, Department of Retail Management, Ryerson University; and Dr. Ann Pegoraro, co-director, E-Alliance, and Lang Chair in Sport Management, Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph. Listen to the podcast…
With the Women’s Final Four starting April 1, KARE11 Television has published a video interview with Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology. The interview, “It’s ‘game on’ for equality in NCAA athletics,” notes that LaVoi, also on the organizing committee for the Women’s Final Four at Target Center, is excited to see some change taking place in inequities that have been in place for years.
In a recent podcast, “When it comes to women coaching women’s teams, Big 12 falls well below the national average,” NPR in Kansas City (KCUR 89.3) interviewed Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, Tucker Center director and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology. Though the NCAA instituted changes to promote gender equity in college basketball this year, gender gaps still remain as only 63% of NCAA Division I women’s college basketball teams have a woman as coach. Also interviewed was Danielle Donehew, executive director of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Nicole M. LaVoi, PhD, director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport and senior lecturer in the School of Kinesiology, and Hannah Silva-Breen, master’s student in the School of Kinesiology’s sport psychology program and research assistant in the Tucker Center, have published an article in the Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, “Longitudinal Analysis of Head Coach Turnover of Women’s NCAA D-I Teams.” The article examines the longitudinal data for the Tucker Center’s Women in College Coaching Report Card.
