Wellesley College Athletics

Physical education was a part of the Wellesley curriculum from its inception in 1875 and exercise was required. Founder Henry Fowle Durant's view was considered fairly "avant garde" at the time. He advised the students "to make the blood bound through your veins; that will stimulate the mind and help to make you good students." Students were encouraged to take brisk walks, to row on the lake, and to exercise in the gymnasium. 

While certain factual information is available from the college archives and records, Wellesley College Athletics especially welcomes first-hand accounts and pictures from its alumnae, former administrators and friends of the College which will help complete this timeline.

c. 1875 – Early Calisthenics: by as early as 1875, Wellesley implemented an official P.E program. This was most likely created because the founder of Wellesley wanted the students to be fit for child-rearing.

1882 – The gymnasium was refitted under the supervision of Dr. D. A. Sargent of Harvard.

c. 1885 – Tennis tournament: In addition to P.E. classes, Wellesley students were showing interest in competitive sport. Although the tennis tournament was not officially sanctioned by the college, it showed a wider theme that competitions were very much student-driven. 

In her President's Report to the Board of Trustees in 1890, Helen Shafer presented statistics collected on 26 students which documented their improvements in physical condition from using the gymnasium on a regular basis. On the basis of these findings, President Shafer encouraged "adequate gymnasium" be a continued part of the curriculum.

1893 – The gift of a boathouse was presented to Wellesley as a gift from the students.

c. 1893 - In addition to tennis, cycling became popular. The President of Wellesley College at the time, Caroline Hazard, noted that the bicycle was the beginning of a period of real emancipation for women. This was because women started wearing shorts to cycle and were no longer restricted by their clothes.

1896 – The New Athletic Association was established.

c. 1896 – A student golf club was established, and they played on one of the earliest golf courses in New England, located on Wellesley grounds. This course was later renamed Nehoiden.

c. 1898 – Class basketball teams were established, with competitive sports at Wellesley primarily organized through class teams and intramural competitions. This highlighted a disconnect between the students' desire for competition and the faculty or administration's preference for leisure.

1899 – Field Day was held on May 29, 1899.

1903 – Nehoiden Golf Course opened.

1902 – New Athletic Association is recognized by the Trustees and New Field Day was held on November 3, 1902.

c. 1905 – Constance Applebee brought field hockey to the United States and taught at Wellesley. It was clear that in the early 1900s, sports competition at Wellesley was here to stay.

1908 – The Athletic Association was reformed. Under revised bylaws, the President was always a senior, the Vice President was always a junior who also served as Chairman of the Field Day Committee. The treasurer was a Junior. The Secretary and Custodian were Sophomores. An annual contribution of one dollar was solicited from each member of the Association.

In 1908, organized sports at Wellesley included rowing, golf, tennis, basketball, field hockey, running, archery and baseball. Unorganized sports included walking, riding, swimming, fencing, skating and snowshoeing. Each sport had a instructor from the Department of Physical Education. Members were grouped in class squads governed by captains, and each class squad furnished a team whose members were awarded numerals on the basis of records of health, discipline and skill. Honors, blue W's worn on the sweaters, were awarded on a similar basis.

Interclass competitions for trophies were held on Field Day. Other special days included the "Indoor Meet" in the spring, Float Day in June, and an ice carnival on Lake Waban in the winter. As of that time, Wellesley did not believe in intercollegiate sports for women, but promoted recreation and healthful exercise to as many students who were fit and willing to take part in them.

1909 – Wellesley College built a new gymnasium with an endowment of $100,000 named after Mary Hemenway, of Boston, to support graduate study in physical education. Amy Morris Homans, director of the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics at the time, was named director of Wellesley's program. This marked the founding of the Department of Hygiene and Physical Education.

By 1915, contributions through the Athletic Association were used to construct new tennis courts, to remodel the golf course and to repair the boathouse.

1962 – The boathouse collapsed, destroying the structure and equipment. Alumnae and students provided support to rebuild the boathouse and reinstate the program.

1967 – Fast forward to the 1950s and 60s, colleges started creating women's sports teams that competed with schools in the area. To organize this competition, the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was formed. Its job was to design, sponsor, and sanction women's collegiate sports and championships.

1970 – Intercollegiate crew was initiated as an official part of the physical education program for the first time.

1971 – The AIAW was formed - it was a more formal and official version of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. At the time the NCAA had no interest in women's athletics and the NCAA even raised money to fight against the passage of Title IX.

1972 – Title IX, a federal law enacted in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, is passed. It aims to ensure equal and fair treatment of male and female students.

1985 – Wellesley College opened a new sports center, including a new field house, pool, exercise rooms, locker rooms and administrative offices. The original Mary Hemenway gymnasium was razed to make room for the new field house. Major portions of the Recreation Building were preserved and incorporated into the new center, although the original Davenport Pool became the site of squash and racquetball courts.

1991 – Karyn Cooper '92 wins Wellesley's first NCAA Division III National Championship, capturing the Tennis Singles Championship.

2001 – Golf was added as the 12th Varsity sport and practices commenced at Nehoiden, currently the oldest nine-hole golf course in the country.

2002 – Wellesley dedicated four new playing fields and an outdoor track in October. The fields were built at the west end of campus beyond the Field House on the former Paint Shop Pond site.

2005 – Softball was added as the newest Varsity sport and Keri O'Meara was hired as the first coach. Only three years after the program was established, the 2007 team claimed their first NEWMAC championship title and first NCAA tournament berth.  

2007 – After functioning for several years as a club sport due to Wellesley's non-regulation courts, squash was officially reinstated as a Varsity sport. This new status is thanks in part to a partnership with the Dana Hall School for use of their newly-built regulation size squash courts, which will allow the Wellesley squash team to practice and compete at this state-of-the-art facility.

2010 – Track is added as a varsity sport in the Wellesley Athletics program.

2011 – Just a year after Track is added as a varsity sport, Randell Boots '13 wins Wellesley's second NCAA Division III National Championship, running to first-place in the indoor mile. 

2014 – PERA Department names its first endowed faculty Position: Butler Director of Sports Performance & Fitness held by Rebecca Kimball, Assistant Professor of the Practice.

2014 – Wellesley Athletics inducts its Inaugural Hall of Fame Class.

2015 – Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse re-opens following a comprehensive ten-month renovation that includes the addition of a 3,000 square foot fitness center and a new hardwood floor for basketball and volleyball, named in honor of Gracia Mangano Martore '73. 

2015 – Maura Sticco-Ivins '18 captures Wellesley's third NCAA Division III National Championship in 3-meter diving. Sticco-Ivins also finishes as national runner-up in the 1-meter event. 

2015 – The Butler Boathouse is renovated and dedicated on Lake Waban on September 25, 2015.

2016 - Wellesley wins the 2016 NCAA Division III Rowing National Championship. The Blue are the first women's college to win a national championship in rowing. 

2017 – Maura Sticco-Ivins '18 becomes the first Wellesley student-athlete to win two NCAA Division III National Championships, claiming the title in 1-meter diving. Two days later she would become the first to ever win three by capturing her second career 3-meter diving title.

2022 - Ari Marks '22 wins the 5000 and 1000 meter races at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track National Championships. Marks was then named the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Track Athlete of the Year.

2022 - Wellesley wins the 2022 NCAA Division III Rowing National Championship, the second championship in program history.

2023 - Wellesley wins the 2023 NCAA Division III Rowing National Championship, its second consecutive championship, and the third in program history. The Blue are the third school to win at least three NCAA Division III Rowing Championships, joining Bates and Williams.

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Sources: Project Gutenberg Etext Story of Wellesley College, by Florence Converse, etext prepared by Stephanie L. Johnson (Wellesley '91), etext #2363; Wellesley College 1875 – 1975: A Century of Women, Jean Glasscock, General Editor, Wellesley College, 1975; Leaders in Collegiate Sports - Wellesley Sportswomen 1875-1910 by Linda K. Vaughan (Winter 1997 issue), information provided by Melissa Ludkte '73, Elina Saab Súnden '26 and Kriti Sarav '27; Wellesley College Athletic Communications.