Title IX at UW-Stout

June 23, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a federal law that prohibited discrimination by sex in athletics within all educational institutions. Title IX states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” To commemorate this milestone, the UW-Stout Archives will be celebrating the successes of female athletes, exploring the history of Blue Devil athletic programs, and highlighting the influence of Title IX on the UW-Stout community.

This exhibit will be growing and evolving throughout the 2022-2023 athletic year. To look closer at the files mentioned in this exhibit and other athletics materials, the Archives has a Blue Devils Athletics digital collection online and keyword searchable.

UW-Stout Track & Field WIAC Championship, May 2014

Blue Devil Athletics Before Title IX

Title IX was passed on June 23, 1972, and at that time there were already multiple women’s athletic programs at UW-Stout, including women’s gymnastics (1967-1968), volleyball (1968-1969), and basketball (1971-1972).

: 1971-1972 Women’s basketball statistics and roster

: 1972 Tower Yearbook

: 1972 Tower Yearbook

: 1970-1971 Year End Review only featuring male athletes

: 1965-1966 Winter Sports Review only featuring male athletes

Title IX in Stoutonia

Stoutonia’s sports section analyzed Title IX and documented Stout’s athletic changes in the recent years after it was passed.

: On the Bench with Puck – Volume 67 , 1978

: Women athletes get gyped – Volume 68, 1979

: The Stoutonia Sports – Volume 67, 1977

: Stout women finally to receive man’s touch – Volume 65, 1976

Blue Devil Athletics After Title IX

Women’s athletics continue to grow at UW-Stout both in successes and women’s programs. In 2023, women’s Lacrosse will begin their first season as the 19th NCAA varsity sport at UW-Stout and the 11th NCAA women’s varsity sport.

: 1977 Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Gymnastic Championship

: A Winning Attitude – Blue Devil Athletics Review featuring women’s volleyball and tennis, 1982

: 1995-1996 Winter Athletics Review featuring women’s basketball and gymnastics

: 2005 Stout Soccer

: UW-Stout Fastpitch, 2003

: Blue Devil Women’s Cross Country, 1997

: 2010 WIAC Women’s Golf Championship hosted at UW-Stout

: UW-Stout adds women’s lacrosse, 2021

Women’s gymnastics photoshoot, 2015

Sydney Kasper celebrates after a teammate scores the game-winning goal in overtime in a 1-0 win over St. Scholastica at Nelson Field. / UW-Stout Sports Information photos

Karen Mueser – UW-Stout’s First Woman 4-Year Athlete

Mueser was a member of the first women’s gymnastics team at Stout and participated in gymnastics from 1966-1970. She was inducted into the UW-Stout Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. To learn more about the UW-Stout’s first gymnastics team, check out Before Title IX: Stout gymnastics teams contending for and winning state titles.

: Girl Gymnasts Win State Meet – Stoutonia Volume 58, 1969

: 1970 UW-Stout Women’s Gymnastics Team – Stoutonia Volume 59

: UW-Stout Athletics Hall of Fame Induction, 2001

WWIAC Celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Title IX

In 1995, the Wisconsin Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WWIAC) celebrated Kay Carter’s role in starting the first women’s athletics team at Stout, women’s gymnastics.

Blue Devil Fall Sports Review, 1995

Share Your Story

We are continually collecting information, records, stories, ephemera, and artifacts from former students and athletes at UW-Stout. If you would like to share your own story or donate, please contact the UW-Stout Archives, archives@uwstout.edu.