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Synopsis of the Minnesota State High School League's Board of Directors Meeting Synopsis  Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021  

On July 20, 1969, astronauts from the United States walked on the moon. This historical moment led to innovations that still reap benefits.
About three years later, one of the most important pieces of legislation was another historical moment that led to opportunities for an underrepresented class of student-athletes within our great nation. It was the birth of Title IX. As we continue the walk-up in marking the 50th year of Title IX, I want to reflect on my experience of how it impacted my educational experience and acknowledge how it has also impacted so many deserving student-athletes.

While North Side playgrounds in Minneapolis were magnets of athletic opportunities for young people, too often, some were relegated to the sideline. Especially female athletes.
That didn’t sit well with Kathie Eiland-Madison in the late 1960s. So, she made a stand. Rather, a sit-in to protest. She believed she was every bit as good as the boys at all sports, but at the time, females as athletes weren’t seen as much beyond the “tom-boy” tag. Eiland-Madison would show her disgust by not being selected to play in a pick-up game by sitting at midcourt. She’d refuse to move until someone took a chance on her or she had to be moved. Mind you, she was on the same court as neighborhood standouts Terry Lewis, Jimmy Jam and Jellybean Johnson. If those names sound familiar, you aren’t mistaken. All were bandmates in the Minneapolis-based group, The Time. Johnson, by the way, was the one typically in charge of lifting Eiland-Madison off the court and carrying her to the side.

As we celebrate the 50th year of the passage of Title IX legislation, I can’t help but think of all the remarkable men and women who’ve influenced my life and helped me fulfill my dream of becoming an athlete. I’m particularly reminded of the story of Weller Johnson, a gifted and talented athlete, whose determination to play and compete inspired me. She was my peer role model. I wanted to emulate her success. It started in 1970 when my family moved from one side of St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood to the other. I was 10 years old and a student at J.J. Hill Elementary School. Recess was my favorite class. It was at J.J. Hill where I met Weller, who was an athletically-gifted girl who loved recess more than I did. Everything she did, whether it was running, jumping, throwing or playing kickball, I tried to do as well. After playing on the playground together for several weeks, Weller asked if I wanted to join the girls flag football team at the Oxford Recreation Center.

In the late 1940’s, my mother attended Folwell Junior High School in south Minneapolis. Throughout our childhood, she would share with me and my three siblings that she used to be the free throw shooting champion at Folwell. We figured she was joking. My childhood journey began in Duluth, had a two-year stop in the Battle Creek neighborhood of East St. Paul before returning full circle for my mother to south Minneapolis where I spent the majority of my formative years. As a student, yep, I attended Folwell, too. I spent plenty of time with co-curricular activities, before and after school, and wondered if my mother’s claims about being a free throw champion were true. Astonishingly, they were. Not only was it true, she also held a school record for consecutive free throws made. I can’t recall how many, but they were underhand kind of free throw, often referred to as “granny style.” It was recorded in a journal in one of the physical education offices. Her feat occurred during “sandwich time,” that span when organized basketball for girls had come to a halt and would not revive again until the passage of Title IX legislation in 1972. With a free throw resume like that, I think of what kind of prep career she might have had at Minneapolis Central High School. During that time, female students were relegated to playing in a gym, a park or if they were lucky, in an alley where someone might have a hoop, which was considered a luxury of the times.

In 1990, legendary Apple Valley girls volleyball coach Walt Weaver wrote a letter of recommendation to the Minnesota State High School League’s Hall of Fame Committee in support of a nominee. In the articulate, flowing letter, Weaver made a reference to the Minnesota volleyball officiating landscape in the 1970’s as being “simply out of touch with national volleyball standards and the high school game.” His letter was in support of a Minnesota volleyball official that chose to meet that problem head on. His glowing recommendation was for Fridley’s Anna Bergstrom Anderson. Weaver’s accolades were echoed by others across Minnesota and across the country as Anderson’s tireless efforts were recognized with induction in the League’s first Hall of Fame Class in 1991. In receiving the League’s highest honor of recognition, Anderson, who passed away this past July at the age of 85, was the first female official to be inducted into the prestigious hall.

The 2020-2021 school year included some of the highest hurdles and lowest moments in the history of the Minnesota State High School League. Yet through it all, our students persevered and turned opportunities into memories. At the same time, our local hometown heroes, the coaches, teachers, administrators and officials rose to the occasion and demonstrated courage and determination as they led our students through the school year. This school year, as members of our staff discussed the year ahead, they were asked to consider the most appropriate theme for the year. After a few minutes of discussion, the answer that quickly emerged was one word, “Celebrate.” Each school year brings a great amount of anticipation and promise, and this year is no different. So, welcome to the 2021-2022 school year, the year that follows the most interrupted school year we have ever experienced. It is easy to look back and dwell on the challenges and losses, but we are called to look forward with optimism and with energy, and to focus on those experiences we can provide for our students and the many aspects we will be able to “Celebrate.” If there is one thing we should have learned from the last school year, it is to appreciate the amazing opportunities that exist in nearly every community in our state. The cover article of this edition of MSHSL Connect announces an incredible celebration that will last the entire school year as we build toward the 50th birthday of the passage of the landmark federal legislation now known simply as Title IX. At times, this title can create frustration, yet the legislation that supported equal opportunities for all was critical to the growth of female sports and the creation of athletic experiences for our female students.

On June 23, 2022, Title IX, the landmark federal civil rights law that brought equality and athletic opportunities for girls and women, will celebrate its 50th year. Throughout the 2021-22 school year, the Minnesota State High School League will celebrate the trailblazers XXXX share stories. Seven years before Title IX was signed into federal law, a groundswell of work was happening behind the scenes in Minnesota. At the center of it was Paula Bauck, a well-known teacher and coach in northwestern Minnesota. After teaching stops in Mentor and Detroit Lakes, she continued her teaching career at Moorhead High School in 1958 where she would coach girls gymnastics and girls track, as well as teach bowling, football, rifle and officiating to female students. Her progressive enthusiasm would draw the attention of state leaders.