By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
In many ways, the origins of women's intercollegiate athletics metaphorically resembled the rapid stages of track and field's 440-yard relay.
The first leg of the sprint began with the United States Congress's approval of the Equal Opportunities Act of 1972, more popularly known as Title IX.
Stage two was the immediate urgency of America's higher institutions to understand and properly react to the legislation that prohibited sexual discrimination within their universities.
The baton was then handed off to the directors of the hundreds of intercollegiate athletic departments to identify how they'd establish funds and identify potential women's administrators to create these new departments.
Finally, at the University of Illinois, the last leg of the race was run by new assistant director of women's athletics Dr. Karol Kahrs, an individual who, when officially appointed on June 1, 1974, was forced to hit the ground running.
With an approved budget of just $82,535 with which to work (compared to the men's athletic budget of $2.5 million) and the fall season mere weeks away, Kahrs' appointment book was chock full of assignments that had to be executed in staccato fashion. At the very top of her "To-Do" list was the arduous construction of her seven-sport coaching staff, identifying at least semi-expert instructors for basketball, golf, gymnastics, swimming, track and field, tennis and volleyball.
"We will stop thinking of women's athletics as recreation and more as competition," Kahrs told a Daily Illini writer. "Varsity-level athletes will have to be more dedicated and be willing to accept more responsibility than in the past."
Accomplishing a national search was simply infeasible and making Kahrs' assignment doubly difficult was the fact that she was limited in offering an individual salary of no more than $3,000 to anyone. Furthermore, none of the candidates would be able to offer prospective athletes any scholarship aid that initial season.
In most cases, Kahrs predictably turned to individuals with whom she was already familiar at the University of Illinois. Prior to her appointment with the Athletic Association—forerunner of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics—Kahrs had worked for eight years in UI's College of Physical Education.
Betsy Kimpel
Kahrs' first target was Urbana's Betsy Kimpel, a longtime amateur star in the Illinois Women's Golf Association.
She had just announced her retirement as a competitor. In a 1974 article written by Urbana Courier reporter Lou Engel, Kimpel described how she received her job offer.
"It all came about when Dr. Kahrs called me up after reading that I was going to retire from state tourney competition," Kimpel said. "It came as a surprise when they offered me the position and I think it sort of came as a surprise when I decided to accept it. The truth is that I'm rather excited. I wouldn't in any way call myself an instructor, although I do know the fundamentals and what is needed to have a good golf swing."
Kimpel served as the Illini coach until 1978 when she was succeeded by Paula Smith.
Betsy Kimpel died in 2005 at the age of 75.
Stephen Douglas
Next, Kahrs discovered Steve Douglas, a former college basketball star who'd played for Coach Tex Winter at Kansas State University. Fortunately, he was already tenured as a professor on UI's political science staff.
"While it wasn't going to do anything for my career, it sounded fun … something worth doing," Douglas said recently. "I had written a letter to Karol that explained my experience and she jumped at it. She thought that because I had coached women before (in Malaysia, where he had undertaken a study of the country's educational system in pursuit of his doctorate degree), I would be a good candidate. It was a delightful experience, but my original agreement with Karol was that I would only coach for a year or two, then be replaced by a female coach."
Steve Douglas, now 83, remained as a faculty member at the University of Illinois for 35 years until his retirement in 2000. He and his wife now reside in Los Angeles, Calif.
Jerry Mayhew
Jerry Mayhew, a doctoral candidate in physical education at the U of I, was Kahrs' choice to guide the Illini women's track and field program.
An undergrad at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, Mayhew had assisted his wife, Barbara, with the girl's program at Urbana High School. He brought on UI undergrad Judy Harrison to assist him for that 1974-75 season, but they served only one year.
Following more than 40 years of faculty work at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., Dr. Jerry Mayhew now serves as a Professor Emeritus of Exercise Science at TSU.
Kim Musgrave
Kahrs filled her women's gymnastics coaching vacancy with Kim Musgrave, who had just weeks before graduated from Temple University.
Musgrave had joined the U of I's physical education staff as an instructor in dance but had only limited experience in gymnastics. She learned the intricacies of the sport from Illini men's coach Yoshi Hayasaki. Musgrave's '74-75 team was divided into two parts—the beginners, who made up about 50 per cent of the squad, and the intermediate and advanced gymnasts. She coached the Illini for two seasons.
Said Musgrave in a 1974 Daily Illini story, "The most difficulty I've had is getting the girls to work really hard. There are a couple of girls who are really serious about gymnastics, but most of them are on the team for the fun of it."
Kim Musgrave's current whereabouts could not be identified.
Jeanne Hutzen
Twenty-nine-year-old Californian Jeanne Hultzen, was Kahrs' pick to fill the swimming coach opening.
Hultzen, who was assisted in that first season by volunteer diving coach Doug Ward, had just completed her master's degree in physical education at Cal State-Sacramento.
She had most recently been responsible for the swimming program at Watsonville High School in California. She was replaced after only one season by Ann Pollack.
Jeanne Hultzen's current whereabouts could not be identified.
Peggy Pruitt
The head coaching position for Illini women's tennis went to Peggy Pruitt, who was studying for her PhD in physical education administration at the University of Illinois.
The University of Kentucky graduate had directed UI's Women's Intercollegiate Sports Association (WISA) team the three previous seasons. Pruitt served only one varsity season at Illinois.
As a result of her long and successful coaching and administrative career at Ohio University, Dr. Pruitt recently was a 2022 inductee into the Mid American Conference Hall of Fame. OU named its field hockey facility in her honor 23 years ago.
Kathleen Haywood
Kahrs' seventh Illini coach was Kathie Haywood, hired to head up UI's volleyball program.
A standout volleyball and basketball player at Washington University in St. Louis, she was fortunate to inherit a UI club team that had placed runner-up to Chicago Circle in the state meet. Haywood was replaced after only one season by Terry Hite.
Dr. Kathleen Haywood is a retired Associate Dean and Professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
