There are anniversaries celebrated in name only, and then there are anniversaries such as Club 35, the dedication to three-and-a-half decades of Wayne State women’s athletics, that have true significance.
The idea for Club 35 actually had nothing to do with an anniversary. Originally, Director of Athletics Rob Fournier simply wanted to find a way to honor women’s athletics.
After tracing the history back 35 years — that at the time consisted of volleyball and basketball — it all came together.
"The numerical part, it just happened to be one of those coincidences," Fournier said. "I thought it was more important [that] coming off what we had done for the 90 years of athletics ... This gives [women's athletics] its own special recognition."
And so Fournier, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations Jeff Weiss, and Graduate Assistant Lisa Seymour created Club 35, which was designed to collaborate the student-athletes of today with their predecessors to honor the past and present of the program.
“We came up with the idea for Club 35 around the idea that every single woman, no matter if she was an All-American (or) on the team for one season,” said Seymour, who also was a softball student-athlete at WSU from 2006-2009, “she played a part in making women’s athletics what it is today.”
The group wanted a powerful message, one that today is ironic given the successes of women’s athletics at WSU:
“35 years ago some people might have said: ‘She throws like a girl. She runs like a girl. She jumps like a girl.’
“But today they just say, ‘She’s an All-American.’”
The symbolism of the statement is more than just that. In fact, in the 35 years of women’s athletics, Wayne State has 109 All-Americans to go along with 35 conference championships and four National Championships.
“Part of the premise behind it [the slogan] is it doesn’t matter if you were the last person on the bench or an All-American,” Fournier said, “you were part of a building block that got women’s athletics where it is today.”
Indeed, it doesn’t matter how big of an impact each of the 984 female student-athletes had during their careers. Each and every name appears on the promotional poster the club.
So far, the message has come across. The club has attracted the attention of many alumni student-athletes such as Ann LaPointe (McMaster), a former softball player from 1979-1982.
“I’d have to say, without athletics back in the 1970s,” LaPointe said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today.”
Today, LaPointe is the principal at Woodhaven High School and said the idea of Club 35 is a critical aspect to continued success for Wayne State.
“I really think it’s important to carry on that tradition,” LaPointe said. “Wayne State’s not only a great college to go to, but it’s a college with community-based bonds.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Sinclair, a softball student-athlete from 2002-2006, said the club, which has already brought together student-athletes of many different eras, has also brought out the sharing of fond memories.
“My freshman year, we came in with nine freshmen,” Sinclair described, “and went to the final eight [College World Series] in the country. It was the first time we [Wayne State] had ever done that.”
It was the greatest single season in WSU softball history. Fitting that memory was brought up in the context of women’s athletics; there may not be anyone more symbolic of Tartar-Warrior history than Gary Bryce, who has coached the softball team since 1982.
By far the most talked about memory, though, was that of Dacia Schileru, the first woman to participate in an NCAA championship competition in 1973. Schileru, a diver, not only paved the way for future women student-athletes, she did so against men, and did it in Wayne State’s own backyard.
“The thing that really resonated with me was when the NCAA did the 100-year celebration,” Fournier said. “They were picking out those 25 defining moments that made up the NCAA.
“To see that we were one of those 25 defining moments. Everybody who’s ever been a female student-athlete has a connection to that moment. You think about that: all the Big Ten Schools, all the PAC Ten schools, all the Atlantic Coast Conference schools … lo and behold it was the city school in Detroit that provided that first opportunity for women.”
The club, which started with a kickoff event in late September, will feature a variety of alumni events to be held throughout the 2009-10 athletic season. Many will coincide with key home games, such as the swimming meet against Grand Valley State Jan. 9.
And to truly give back to as many former student-athletes as possible, the club has decided to hold one of its events — for women’s basketball — at the Michigan State Hall of Fame Café, when the Warriors take on the Spartans in an exhibition match.
“We’re having a ‘35’ event out that way to capture some of the alumni that live out there,” Seymour said.
Another event is women’s hockey alumni night in late January, when Club 35 will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the program.
Lastly, the schedule culminates with softball’s final home game of the season against Grand Valley State, where the club will unveil its tribute statue, complete with engravings of all members as well as the Club 35 logo.
Throughout the next few months, the club will recognize those accomplishments of the Wayne State program and look forward to even greater successes down the road.
For Fournier, Club 35 has already told the many stories of the 30-plus years of women’s athletics, and that’s exactly the way he wanted the club to work.
“I think the more you tell a story, the more people feel a part of it,” he said. “The reaction to the poster; The fact that every single student-athlete, present as well as past, is listed on that has kind of resonated with that audience.”
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