In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the women leaders that serve the Ohio Athletic Conference, the OAC and BSN SPORTS have partnered to annually recognize an OAC Female Administrator of the Year.
Title IX, adopted in June of 1972, prohibits gender discrimination in educational programs and activities and is considered by many to be one of the most significant pieces of civil rights legislation in US history. The Ohio Athletic Conference initially introduced women’s sports during the 1984-85 academic year and has been committed to continually enhancing women’s sport program offerings and ensuring equal opportunities for female student-athletes.
“The OAC has an incredible history of women’s athletics and of platforming our female OAC student-athletes,” said OAC Commissioner, Sarah Otey. “BSN SPORTS’ support over the years has allowed us to ensure that all of our student-athletes are appropriately supported in terms of equipment and apparel – and I am incredibly grateful to their team for their renewed support of our female OAC administrators. As a Division III student-athlete and administrator, I have had opportunities that were not available to my predecessors thanks to the adoption of Title IX and the women that came before me. In recognizing an OAC Female Administrator of the Year, we will now have the opportunity to formally thank those members of our community who are working tirelessly to ensure that student-athletes of the future have it even better than we do.”
Todd Northrop, Vice President of BSN SPORTS Collegiate/Pro Select Programs said “BSN SPORTS is incredibly proud of the opportunity to partner with the Ohio Athletic Conference in recognizing the powerful influence of female leadership in the lives of students, athletes and the communities which they impact. Whether through our company’s employee development program, WERC (Women Empowering Real Change), devoted to women’s empowerment in the workplace, or our dedicated women’s sports sponsorship programs, BSN SPORTS continues to invest in the tools and platforms needed to elevate our female counterparts across the athletic realm. I look forward to collaborating with the OAC to recognize their top talent through the upcoming Female Administrator of the Year in honor of Title IX’s transformational impact on equitable experiences in college athletics.”
Dallas-based BSN SPORTS is the leading marketer, manufacturer and distributor of sporting goods apparel and equipment. A division of Varsity Brands, BSN SPORTS markets and distributes its products to over 150,000 institutional and team sports customers in colleges and universities, middle and high schools, and recreational programs throughout the United States via catalog, e-commerce, and direct sales. Focused on providing game changing solutions through local partnerships, multi-brand selection and one-stop shopping for equipment and uniforms, BSN SPORTS’ more than 3,000 employees have been helping elevate participation in team sports since 1972. For more information about BSN SPORTS please visit www.bsnsports.com.
The inaugural award will be presented at the Ohio Athletic Conference Clyde Lamb Awards Banquet in May 2023.