Women's Recreation Association Scrapbooks

Women's athletics at Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) began in the 1890s when a women's basketball team was first assembled. In 1903 the women's basketball team won what could be considered the first athletic championship by winning five out of six contests with neighboring schools, including the University of Colorado.

A Girls' Athletic Association was formed in 1915, but women were limited to intramural competition with limited access to athletic facilities. In 1922 the Women's Athletic Association (WAA) was organized by Elizabeth Forbes, who joined the faculty in 1920. The Women's Club Building (later named Ammons Hall) was opened in 1921 giving women on campus their own gymnasium, swimming pool, and locker room. Women's athletics were still only at the intramural level with some intercollegiate activity, but focus was on social gatherings, not competition. The Department of Physical Education was established during the 1925-1926 school year, with separate courses for men and women.

In 1962, the Women's Recreation Association (WRA) replaced the WAA, and physical education instructors also served as coaches. Nancy O'Connor began an intercollegiate program in swimming and diving at CSU in 1963. This program was closely followed by gymnastics (1964), field hockey (mid-1960s), and track and field (1971). Tennis (1974), basketball (1974), volleyball (1975), and softball (1975) were all established after the passage of Title IX which required universities to provide programs for women equivalent to men. Colorado State University quickly joined the newly established Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in 1971. AIAW provided oversight and created standards for women's intercollegiate athletics. The NCAA replaced the AIAW as the oversight and management body of women's intercollegiate athletics after the 1981-1982 academic year.