Mary Ellen Burt is retiring as Union College’s golf coach after this season, two years after finishing her stellar career as the school’s basketball coach with 344 wins.
Union videographer Kyle McCue captures the impact of Burt’s tenure in a video titled “Mary Ellen Burt: A Caretaker of Women’s Sport” available to watch on the school’s YouTube channel. One of the most compelling moments of the video is when Burt discusses the impact of Title IX on women’s athletics nationwide and at Union College.
“We lowered the ladders so others can climb,” Burt quotes television personality and sportscaster Robin Roberts, who had made a visit to the school. Burt loved that quote. It’s easy to see why.
She was recruited out of Webster Thomas High School in Rochester to attend the University of Southern California on a full scholarship to play women’s college basketball. That was in 1978, six years after Title IX was signed into law. It took several years for Title IX to begin to have an impact, and the availability of scholarships was the most obvious initial benefit. Burt’s life would be forever changed by her decision to play in Los Angeles.
She was a player on one of the best women’s basketball teams in the country, playing for future Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Linda Sharp, who would soon lead the Women of Troy to two NCAA championships and three Final Four appearances.
Burt was a hard-nosed guard tagged with defending some of the best players in the country, including All-America and Wade Trophy winner Nancy Lieberman of Old Dominion University. Burt’s forte was taking charges.
The Women of Troy made their first appearance in the Final Four in the 1981 AIAW Tournament. Following the successful…
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