By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
As Fighting Illini women's athletics teams enjoy great success – volleyball's Sweet 16 performance, women's tennis earns NCAA Tournament bid, women's golf headed to NCAA Regionals, women's gymnastics with another Top 25 finish – the beginning of the movement can be dated back to May 2, 1978.
It was the summer of 1972 and young sports-minded girls all over America had no idea just how much the Title IX legislative bill President Richard Nixon was signing into law would eventually change their lives.
On May 15, 1974, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees launched women's athletics and just nineteen days later, hired Dr. Karol Kahrs, a UI faculty member, to oversee the Athletic Association's new addition.
Kahrs was presented with an initial budget of $82,500 for her seven-sport program. Because her budget was so small, it was decided that there wouldn't be any athletic scholarships for women in year one.
Karol Kahrs (middle) |
She immediately began her search for coaches, first landing Betsy Kimpel to coach the women's golf team. Kimpel's ten-month salary was $2,900.
UI's women's program slowly began to achieve success. Its tennis program won the school's first AIAW state title in 1976 and a state championship in golf followed in 1977.
But it wasn't until May 2, 1978, that UI's athletic program jumped in with both feet, offering full scholarships to Annawan, Illinois basketball phenoms Lisa and Lynnette Robinson.
"I had an eye on the Robinson twins long before 1978," Kahrs said. "I knew that they could make a real impact on our basketball program, so we went all out in our efforts to land them."
As they were growing up, Clarence and Priscilla Robinson's 5-foot-11-inch twins regularly played hoops with their two brothers and other neighborhood boys, preparing them for the tougher, more physical play they'd eventually face in college.
The Robinson's prep coach at Annawan High School, Dr. Clarence "Pete" Hughes, had a lot of orange and blue ties in his closet, having been a doctoral student at the University of Illinois.
Lisa Robinson |
Lynette Robinson |
"We were probably more leaning toward Illinois State because they were offering us a scholarship-and-a-half, but Dr. Hughes urged us to consider the Illini," said Lisa. "Honestly, we didn't know what to do. We were almost in tears."
Then one day, prompted by Illini women's coach Carla Thompson, the twins got a telephone call from Lou Henson.
"Coach Henson, along with Dr. Hughes, asked us to visit the University of Illinois," Lisa said. "Our campus visit included an inspirational conversation with Ray Eliot. After that, we immediately knew that Illinois was where we wanted to be."
Both women developed into premier players for the Fighting Illini. In four years, Lisa became the Illini's all-time leading scorer (1,906 points) while sister Lynnette placed second in scoring and finishing atop the school's career rebounding list (894). Lisa also was a first-team Academic All-America selection and the winner of the 1982 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
Their top thrill came in 1982 when Illinois was included in the NCAA Tournament field.
"We were at the Illini men's game when they announced we'd been invited," Lisa remembered. "I'll never forgot the experience of playing at Kentucky, with our band and so many Illini fans in attendance."
The Robinsons stayed involved with the game after they graduated, entering the coaching ranks.
Lynnette served at Missouri State from 1987 through 2002, where the Lady Bears enjoyed national prominence in both prestige and attendance. Robinson's highlight came in her fifth season at MSU, 1991-92, when the Bears made it all the way to the NCAA semifinals. She's also been an assistant coach for four seasons at Michigan and for three years at Missouri. Last March, Robinson was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. Now in semi-retirement, she's an administrator at Target, Inc. in Columbia, Mo.
Lisa's 30-year coaching career included stops at Illinois State (1983-98), Normal Community High School (1998-99), Augustana College (1999-2001), Wyoming (2001-02), Air Force (2002-10) and Bradley (2010-11). Today, she resides in Colorado Springs, Colo. where she works at the Air Force Academy as an academic advisor and learning strategies instructor.
Forty years after presenting the Robinsons with their full scholarships, Kahrs is more pleased than ever before about women's progress in intercollegiate athletics.
"From day one, we had a plan in place to be the best that we could be," she said. "Both the women and the men deserve that."
