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VARSITY VIEWS A NEW ERA Durant helped make Penn State a leader in the movement to create varsity sports for female athletes. Penn State Athletic Communications A TRUE PIONEER Della Durant eulogized as advocate for women's sports | ella Durant, one of the Penn State pioneers who helped guide the athletic department's creation of a varsity sports program for women, died Aug. 26 at The Village at Penn State. Her role in Penn State athletics coincided with the massive changes that brought women D athletes into the mainstream of American sports. Born in Great Barrington, Mass., Durant earned her undergraduate degree in physical education in 1950 at Russell Sage College. She was a senior class officer, and in her college yearbook, she was described as having a passion for sports. Said a classmate, "Whatever sports came up, she was willing to play." Durant went on to teach at the Beard School in Orange, N.J., and at the University of Delaware in Newark prior to enrolling in grad school at Penn State, where she received her master's degree in 1955. At the time, women who enjoyed playing sports at Penn State had limited opportunities to compete, and that caught Durant's attention. She was the advisor to the Women's Recreation Association, which oversaw club sports, sports days and play days. The competitions were recreational and did not allow participants to compete against athletes from other schools. Durant and her fellow advocates for women's sports thought that was insufficient. "Why fool around with the play day hanky-panky?" said Martha Adams, who was chair of the women's physical education department and was Durant's housemate for 50 years. With a strong push from women students who wanted varsity competition, Durant helped establish what was initially termed an extramural program that launched in 1964. She hired the coaches for nine women's teams, and even served as a coach herself, helping oversee the women's gymnastics program during its first year alongside co-coach Lucille Magnusson. "What I remember about Della is that she always went beyond what was needed, " said Ginny Harpster who was among the first coaches at the varsity level in 196465, leading the riflery program. "She took varsity status very seriously. If I needed something, I could go to her. She wanted to make it fly." Women's college varsity sports programs across the nation remained under the radar until the passage of a federal law in 1972 known as Title IX. Durant guided Penn State into the new era of mandated scholarships, recruiting and national championships. Penn State was the host school for a national swimming championship in 1974 and a national basketball championship in 1976. When men's and

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