Nearly 50 years ago, Richmond native Sharlene Brightly joined the first varsity women’s basketball team at the University of Virginia, becoming the first Black woman to represent the University in intercollegiate competition.
On Sunday, during halftime of the UVA women’s basketball game against Clemson University at John Paul Jones Arena, UVA Director of Athletics Carla Williams – the first female African American athletic director of a Power Five conference school – will help pay homage to Brightly.
The tribute is part of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the federal policy that guarantees gender equity in athletics.
Before the game, Williams, retired athletics administrator Jane Miller, UVA Title IX Coordinator Meredith Smith and members of UVA coaching staffs working with today’s female athletes will share their insights into Title IX in an online panel discussion that gets underway at 1 p.m. To register for the virtual event – which will be moderated by Abby Palko, director of UVA’s Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center – click here.
