For Immediate Release: February 2, 2007
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton University event celebrating women's athletics draws 150 at Events Center
2nd annual event features luncheon, auction to recognize achievements of female student-athletes

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton University athletics held its 2nd Annual Luncheon and Auction Celebrating Women's Athletics on February 1 at the Events Center to establish an endowed scholarship for a deserving female student-athlete. The event, which attracted 150 campus and community leaders and supporters, also served to recognize the achievements of the University's female student-athletes and raise awareness of the benefits of college athletics for women at Binghamton.

Kathryn Grant Madigan, a partner at Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP and president-elect of the New York State Bar Association, was the featured speaker at the event. As a former Division I basketball player at the Univeristy of Colorado, Madigan talked about her experience as a student-athlete prior to Title IX legislation and the impact it had on her career.

"My Phi Beta kappa key got me in the boardrooms," she said. "My experience as a basketball player, as well as 10 years of playing rugby, that gave me instant respect."

Senior cross country and track runner Mari Tursi spoke on the student-athletes experience at Binghamton. Tursi, president of Binghamton's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, spoke of how athletics helped shape her life.

"Sports have been an integral part of my life for the past 15 years," she said. "When I was younger, being active was more about proving I could be better than the boys, but as I got older it became how I defined myself. I am fortunate enough to have benefited from all the opportunities Title IX has given girls and women in the sports world. I am an athlete. And being an athlete is more than lacing up a pair of shoes and walking onto a track. It's about being a leader, a role model, a teammate, a friend."

University President Lois B. DeFleur, last year's featured speaker, and Director of Athletics Joel Thirer gave their insight to the history of Title IX and some personal reflections.

The luncheon, which was sponsored by Dr. Bai Lee Women's Healthcare Service & Lee Laser Skincare Services, capped a sequence of celebratory events for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. On January 27, the athletics department honored female athletes of all ages at halftime during the women's basketball game against Boston University.

The National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) was chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1986 to honor female athletic achievement and recognize the importance of sports and fitness participation for all girls and women. Each year in February, all 50 states celebrate the event with community-based events.

In two years, the event has raised enough to endow a scholarship within the Binghamton University Foundation. If you would like more information about the scholarship or would like to make a donation to support it, please contact Tom Brush at 607-777-6389 or at tbrush@binghamton.edu.