A copy of the email I sent to Dave Hart (Email: [email protected]) on November 17: Dear Director Hart, I am writing to ask you to reverse your decision regarding the use of the Lady Volunteers name. I have signed the petition asking for reinstatement of the brand for all womens sports. I have also called Nike asking them to convey that message as well. Now I am writing you. I want to explain why keeping the brand for all sports is important. Womens basketball was the first team to gain recognition by the UT community, primarily because of Pat Head Summitts drive and Joan Cronans leadership. They were a formidable duo. Thankfully their leadership reached across all of UTs womens teams. The name Lady Vols gave a crucial identity to the Womens Athletic Department. The accomplishments of the womens programs happened because of Title IX and some strong women leaders who took the opportunity and pushed forward. If the University of Tennessee and the Mens Athletic Department had supported women athletes, Title IX wouldnt have been needed. But it was. If UT hadnt had Pat Summitt and Joan Cronan, all of the Lady Vols teams wouldnt have experienced the growth and stellar successes they did. Thank goodness those two women were at UT. ALL of the women athletes at UT benefitted from being Lady Vols, not just the basketball players. To long-time fans, the name isnt just a name. It is recognition for hard-fought success. It is an identity. It is history. It is the result of decades of work from the Womens Athletic Directors, the Womens Team Coaches, the Women Athletes, the Trainers, the Media Specialists, the Academic Advisors, the Strength Coaches, and support from the Loyal Fans. The women athletes today stand on the shoulders of the women athletes who came before them. They stand on the shoulders of Joan Cronan as AD, Pat Summitt as Assistant AD and Head Basketball Coach, and all of the team coaches throughout the decades. The Lady Vols is the house ALL of those women and men built. If you discontinue the use of Lady Volunteers for ALL teams, you dishonor them. You dismiss that history. No one would dream of changing the Crimson Tide to the Red Wave, or the Florida Gators to the Florida Swamp Creatures. The loyal Lady Vol Fan base cant believe you would change the Lady Vols to the Power T. No, we really cant believe it! Please reinstate the Lady Vols name for ALL OF THE WOMENS TEAMS! Not to do so would be a HUGE mistake. You alienate no one by reversing your decision and will alienate a HUGE portion of the fan base by sticking with it. Mollie Graves DeLozier Class of 1978
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:20:38 +0000
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