Honorees to be unveiled in no particular order nightly on WLEX leading up to Title IX Anniversary June 23
UK Athletics, in conjunction with its official television partner WLEX, will begin unveiling the commemorative “UK Title IX Top 50” team honoring the 50 greatest Kentucky women’s athletes of the Title IX era on a nightly basis.
The UK Athletics Title IX Top 50 is a tentpole initiative of the department’s multi-faceted celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, which includes commemorative events and experiences, multimedia coverage and community activations.
UK Athletics Title IX 50th Anniversary Team
A blue-ribbon panel of women’s sports head coaches, administrators and UK Athletics Hall of Fame members selected the Title IX 50th Anniversary Team, featuring the 50 greatest women athletes of Kentucky’s last 50 years.
Five team members will be named each night on WLEX’s BBN Tonight and during the evening news. The full team of 50 will be commemorated on the June 23 anniversary of the signing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, legislation put in place to end discrimination on the basis of sex.
The team is comprised of 50 women student-athletes, listed and unveiled in no particular order. Only athletes who exhausted their eligibility, or will complete four years of eligibility by the end of the 2021-22 season, were included in the top-50.
The difficult and subjective selection process, a function of the tremendous success of so many Kentucky athletes over the last half century, was based on the following:
- Only athletes who competed for Kentucky in the last 50 years (only since the implementation of Title IX in 1972) were considered.
- Selections only included athletes. They must complete their eligibility to compete for Kentucky in 2021-22 academic year.
- Selections were based on athletic accomplishments, defined as their importance to great teams and their individual accomplishments with the emphasis on their career at Kentucky.