USD Women's Basketball 1992-1993

TWENTY YEARS OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL: A PERSPECTIVE The 1992-1993 season represents a milestone of sorts for University of San Diego women's basketball Head Coach Kathy Marpe. The '92-'93 campaign marks Marpe's 20th season as a collegiate head coach. This period of lon– gevity offers Marpe a unique vantage point from which to view the past, present and future of the sport of women's basketball.

"When I started at (the University of) New Mexico (prior to the '73-'74 season), there were few scholarships to be found for women's sports anywhere," she reflected. "As a matter of fact, during my first year, I had just one 'tuition' to offer and a very small travel and recruiting budget. Women's basketball at the time was, pretty much, a regionalized sport."

It is in the area of scholarship and financial considerations that women's basketball has made its biggest gains, according to Marpe. With funding growing for the sport each year, she feels that women 's basketball has made the transition from a regionalized to a truly national sport. "The media exposure of women's basketball has improved with every season . Many schools are now attracting sell-out crowds versus big games on their schedules, such as the crowd that watched the City Championship last season here at USO. Teams now schedule opponents on a regional and national basis. With increased exposure and television contracts, we are quickly becoming a high profile sport. "Title IX and the ERA established a climate for the improved exposure, increased budgets and added personnel that has allowed women 's athletics to grow into the major force it is today," Marpe explains. "We are now better able to recruit athletes in all parts of the country instead of being restricted to local or regional areas. At one time, I recruited a specific type of player and changed my system according to the type of players on my team. Today, coaches, for the most part, are looking for taller, quicker athletes that fit into their particular system and style of play. "At USO, the growth (in my twelve years here) has been dramatic. We are now a member of the West Coast Conference, enabling us to have a conference tournament at the end of the season. The winner of this tournament rece ives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Post-season play is now the rule and not the exception for women's teams. "We have also seen much growth across the board in our conference in other areas such as travel budgets, media exposure and scholarships." Marpe has watched her sport move toward the forefront in the area of educational opportunities for women. The University of San Diego, she says, "treats athletics as a main-line part of the

educational process. It is considered a healthy arm of the University community and the University environment." She is in favor of current trends in NCAA legislation be– cause "these NCAA rules will have a definite impact on all areas of athletics . They are certain to create a wake– up call for high school and college athletes, both female and male. "Gender equity is the buzz word in athletics and the NCAA in the '90's. I think women in sports will see yet another growth spurt that will impact players, teams and society, as a whole. Women will continue to see athletics play a positive and productive role in their lives. The climate is right for women to MAKE IT HAPPEN!" Women 's basketball has come a long way in the past twenty years. So, too, has USO Head Coach Kathy Marpe. They are an ideal match! 7