The Untold Story
On February 7, 2010, 106.5 million people in the United States tuned into the Super Bowl, making it the most-watched
broadcast in this country. A global television audience of 700 million followed the action of soccer's World Cup final
on July 11. Sport and athletic events clearly occupy a central role in the lives of many people, and the towering figures
of athletic competition have become part of our popular culture.
That those figures have typically been men speaks not to the lack of contributions by women in sport, but rather to the
dearth of recognition for their efforts. It’s an oversight that Professor Synthia Sydnor of the Department of Kinesiology
and Community Health sought to correct, in part, with the Fall 2010 offering of KIN/SOC 249, Sport and Modern Society.
With funding from the Provost’s Gender Equity Council and the sponsorship of the Ethnography of the University Initiative,
Sydnor focused her course on the role of female faculty at the University of Illinois in the history of athletics and sports
scholarship in the United States.
"Women in physical education at Illinois led the state and the nation in establishing the practices of physical education
and the discipline of kinesiology," Sydnor said. "They introduced innovations such as national athletic tournaments for
women and student teaching, things which today have national and international resonance, and helped to found scholarly
organizations related to sport, play, and athletics, such as the North American Society of the Sociology of Sport and the
Association for the Study of Play."
Leadership and passion
Students worked in teams to gather information on physical education/kinesiology pioneers Louise Freer, Beulah Drom,
Phyllis Hill, Carita Robertson, Laura Huelster, Jody Davenport, Susan Greendorfer, and Alyce Cheska. Using both archival
research and interviews, they documented the lives and accomplishments of the women, producing posters which they presented
at the Ethnography of the University student conference in November.
Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Peter Milinkovic, a sophomore in sociology, enrolled in KIN/SOC 249 to study popular sports
like football, baseball, and basketball, so he was initially taken aback by the focus of the course. His disappointment
changed to enthusiasm, however, as he delved into the life of Louise Freer, who was a professor of physical education from
1915 to 1949.
"She was a 'game changer,'" he said. "Her leadership pushed the envelope and her intent was based upon what benefited
society rather than herself. The amount of work Louise Freer did for future generations should be recognized and celebrated
much more than it is."
Professor Carita Robertson, who joined the physical education faculty in 1925, also proved to be a fascinating subject,
according to Lauren Fiscus, a sophomore in advertising who is completing a focus area in sport management.
"Carita Robertson had an art degree and was a member of the University Chorus," she said. "She was such a well-rounded
person, and so passionate about everything she did."
Fiscus' group found information in the University Archives, Robertson's own publications, including her master's thesis,
and old issues of the student yearbook, the Illio. She said one of the most challenging aspects of the project was
to bring all the information her group had found together into a coherent poster.
Sophomore and kinesiology major David Wisthuff's group, on the other hand, found the most challenging part of the project
was finding information on their subject, Jody Davenport. Little archival information existed, so they turned to the internet,
where they found an interesting connection between Professor Davenport and the current coach of the University of Illinois
women's golf team, Paula Smith. The group’s interview with Coach Smith became the main focus of the project.
"While it was challenging, the lack of archival information also made the project that much more rewarding," Wisthuff
said. "Few knew the story of her life and how much of an amazing woman she was. Due to our efforts, her story will be
told to more people and archived with the University."
To be continued
Indeed, all the work of Professor Sydnor's class will become the focus of a web gallery and physical display that will
be created during the Spring 2011 semester. "To date, nearly 1000 Ethnography of the University projects have been archived
in the University's digital repository, Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship, or IDEALS,"
Sydnor said. "These IDEALS-published student research documents will form the core of the website and display on this
forgotten history of University scholars and leaders in sport."
Professor Sydnor would like to acknowledge the contributions of Nancy Abelmann, co-director of the Ethnography of the
University Initiative, professor of Anthropology, Asian American Studies, and East Asian Languages and Cultures, and director
of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies; and teaching assistant Caitlin Vitosky, a master's student in the
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health.