Interview with MaryAnne Simmons, March 3, 2021

Interview Summary

Interview with former University of Kentucky pre-Title IX women's basketball player (1968-70), MaryAnne [Daughaday] Simmons.

Simmons talks about the lack of sports for girls during her childhood and how she played sports with the boys in the neighborhood. She talks about teaching herself to play tennis by reading a book and practicing in front of a mirror and tells the story of what happened when she went to her first tennis lesson. Simmons talks about playing club sports at the University of Kentucky before Title IX. She talks about their low-quality facilities and how there was very little funding. She talks about the players' dedicated mentality despite these circumstances. She talks about riding in station wagons to away games, not having any money for meals, and the attitudes of the men's basketball program when newspapers would write articles about the women's team. She talks about whether the players were aware of the discrepancies between how the men's and women's teams were treated by the university. Simmons talks about how her life may have been different if Title IX had existed when she was in school. She talks about how women's sports have changed since Title IX. She talks about balancing her academics as a pre-pharmacy student with her athletics. She talks about social life on campus. Simmons talks about finishing her pharmacy degree, getting married, and her husband being drafted for the Vietnam War.

Simmons talks about the creation of the Lady Kats Booster Club in 1980. The program was designed to help raise funds for the women's basketball team. Simmons talks about another program, the Lady Kats Sponsors, in which local families would "adopt" a women's basketball player to give them a family connection in Lexington, and to support them throughout their college career. Simmons' family was the sponsor for the interviewer of this oral history, Valerie Still. They discuss their relationship when Still was in college and how it has continued through today and tell stories of their time together. They discuss the benefits of the Lady Kats Sponsors program. Simmons talks about the celebration organized to honor the 1982 SEC Championship team, who had previously not been recognized. Simmons talks about how her participation in the University of Kentucky women's basketball team influenced her life.

Interview Keyword

1968-1970 (Years at University of Kentucky) 1968-1969 (Basketball season) 1969-1970 (Basketball season) Mayfield, Kentucky Karen Mosley Valerie Still Lady Kats Booster Club Women's basketball Pre-Title IX University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Kelly Beth Simmons Steve Simmons Gender Sex discrimination Gender discrimination Equity in athletics Equality of opportunity Equality Equal treatment standards Women's gym Intramural sports Club sports Scholarships 1982 SEC Women's Basketball Champions Records Statistics Work ethic Title IX Forwards (Basketball position) Memorial Coliseum Training Practices Sue Feamster

Interview LC Subject

Basketball Basketball coaches Basketball players Basketball teams Basketball--Coaching Coaches (Athletics) Coaching (Athletics) College administrators College athletes College athletes--Recruiting Discrimination in sports Sexism. Women basketball players Women in higher education. Women--Education (Higher) Universities and colleges--Finance Basketball coaches--Kentucky Basketball players--Kentucky College sports--Kentucky University of Kentucky University of Kentucky--Basketball Tennis. Tennis players. Universities and colleges--Administration College sports

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.