PITT-BRADFORD ATHLETICS CELEBRATES TITLE IX 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Throughout the 2022-23 athletic year, the Pitt-Bradford athletics department has been celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, the congressional act which ensured that all students have the same rights and opportunities to participate in educational and extracurricular programming, regardless of gender.

On Sunday, March 26^th, the department held a Title IX anniversary celebratory luncheon where Pitt-Bradford female athletes had the opportunity to meet, share a meal with, and ask questions of a panel made up of three women who played pivotal roles in supporting and advancing women’s athletics in the Bradford and Pitt-Bradford communities.

Forty-five student-athletes, coaches, and administrators heard the stories of Margie Holland, Toni Frontino, and Sue Aljoe. “The messages shared by our honored guests bore testimony to the pioneers that they were and are! Their stories resonated with all in attendance,” said Director of Athletics Bret Butler

Holland, a Big 30 Hall of Fame inductee, initiated and coached the girls’ basketball and track and field programs at Bradford Area High school. In 1975 she filed and won the lawsuit with the Pennsylvania State Education Association to seek equal pay for women in coaching.

Toni Frontino was a longtime girls’ basketball coach at St. Bernard School and Bradford Central Christian High School. She also was the first woman to coach an intercollegiate athletic team at Pitt-Bradford, taking charge of the women’s basketball program in 1989. She was assisted by Sue Aljoe, who also has a long coaching career in the Bradford area, taking the helm of the Central Christian softball team when Frontino moved to Pitt-Bradford.

“This was a fantastic event,” said Tina Phillips, senior women’s administrator, and head softball coach. “To hear these three strong women share their stories was historic, informational, and inspiring. It also was great for our current student-athletes to learn about the history of women’s athletics and Celebrate Title IX.”

Sophomore softball player Meghan Kapp said, “I really enjoyed hearing about what happened to help provide us with the opportunities we have now as women in athletics. What better way to learn about it than directly from the women who were a part of it and were right here in our local and college community.”

Attendees also watched an educational video on the passage of Title IX and its impact on athletics, while also remembering the successes, challenges, and team-bonding moments from the women’s athletic programs at Pitt-Bradford.

“What a wonderful and most worthy celebration,” said Bret Butler, “I am so proud of the women that make up our department, both staff and student-athletes.”