What an Arch? Chris Turner shows her form as she pitches for Omega Phi in club softball. photo by James McCreary. "Come on Already." Amy Fisher of Sigma Phi patiently waits for the umpire and catcher to retrieue the ball . - photo by Matt Wissinger . New Addition In May of 1983, when the committee of the Board of Trustees appointed to study whether intercollegiate athletics for women should be extended beyond the limited programs in softball and cross country that had been approved on a trial basis met, the committee spent several hours listening one by one to faculty, staff and students who wanted to express their views "pro or con." One faculty member who spoke very strongly for expanding the intercollegiate athletic program for girls was Barbara ~arnes, longtime director of the outstanding women's intramural sports program at Harding. Mrs . Barnes , a good athlete herself , worked very closely with the girls in the intramural program and knew the keen desire that many of the girls had to participate at the intercollegiate level. She also knew how much intercollegiate participation would mean to those girls who wanted to enter high school coaching. The committee of the board was surprised at the overwhelming number of those with whom they talked who supported the expansion of women's intercollegiate athletics. After careful consideration of the report of the committee , the Board approved the addition of basketball and volleyball to the women's intercollegiate program on a "non-scholarship" basis and without the addition of any coaches. Dr. Karyl Bailey volunteered to coach volleyball and Phil Watkins, men's golf coach , accepted the basketball assignment. The players in both sports in the fall of 1983 were predominantly girls who had made the intramural All-Star teams. In the spring of 1984, the Board approved tuition scholarship in basketball and volleyball the two sports that the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference had approved for scholarships, and the Board approved the addition of track to the intercollegiate program provided it was done without additional staff expense. Coach Cliff Sharp, who assisted Coach Ted Lloyd in men's track and cross country, agreed to add to his load the coaching of women's track. It was those girls who had excelled in the intramural track meet the previous year who formed the nucleus of the team. In January, the women's team entered Harding's Invitational Indoor Track Meet, and surprised everyone by winning it. Will the Lady Bisons again surprise everyone by winning the 1985 AIC Track Meet? It doesn't seem possible that the first year "an intramural team" could win the AIC. But who knows? And the team's strongest supporter will be Barbara Barnes. ~ - Dr. Joseph E. Pryor Women's Intramurals 163
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