If you have ever been on The University of Memphis campus, you've probably seen her name, but you may not know why.
Elma Roane's legacy at The U of M extends far beyond the field house named after her.
In Kansas City, Mo., Roane, 87, was one of five women to win the lifetime achievement award Oct. 9 from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators.
This award, given annually to athletics administrators who have committed their careers to advancing women's athletics, is one of many honors Roane has received in her life, but it is one of the most flattering, she said.
"I have a great pride in seeing our girls have an opportunity to compete, that's basically what my whole life has been about," Roane said.
Roane grew up in Memphis, first playing, then teaching, women's athletics at the junior high school and university level. In 1969, she helped form the Tennessee College Women's Sports Federation, to help reinstitute collegiate athletics programs for women. Later, she would become the organization's second president.
"I was absolutely devastated when they got rid of women's athletics," Roane said, referring to the fall of 1936 when The University chose to discontinue all women's athletics events. "They had actually said it was unhealthy for women to compete - they even said it interfered with our ability to give birth. Of course, I knew that wasn't true."
In the summer of 1978, Roane would get her chance to make an impact on the national level. The U.S. State Department, facing growing concern over the lack of female performance in the Olympics, sponsored a conference to discuss solutions. With the help of women like Roane, the now famous "Title Nine" program was implemented, requiring women's programs to receive equal funding at the university level and returning women's athletics to The University of Memphis.
Roane would continue to teach at The University until 1984, when she was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. After her retirement, several of her former students and co-workers helped organize the Elma Roane Scholarship Fund, which annually gives almost $100,000 to students who pursue careers in teaching and athletics.
"It is such an honor to pay special tribute to the women who dedicated their efforts to the enhancement of opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics," said Jennifer Alley, the executive director of NACWAA.
Other recipients of the award include Joanne Kuhn of Texas Woman's University, Marya Welch of the University of California, Linda Jean Carpenter of Brooklyn College, and Davis and Jeannette Lee (posthumously) of St. Paul's College.
