Dr. Christine Grant — who shaped, defined, defended and championed Title IX and women’s collegiate athletics for nearly 50 years as an administrator — died Friday at age 85, Iowa confirmed.
A founding member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, Grant served as its president. She later became president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators. But she was best known as a pioneer and advocate for Title IX, a federal law that demands equal opportunity for men and women who participate in educational programs or activities that receive federal funding.
Grant testified multiple times before the U.S. House of Representatives on Title IX and gender equity. She provided expert testimony on Title IX in legal disputes and trials. Grant was also an expert consultant to the Health, Education and Welfare Office for Civil Rights’ Title IX Task Force.
“The law is only about fairness,” Grant said on an NCAA video for Title IX’s 40th anniversary in 2012. “That’s all it’s about.
“Looking back, Title IX in my opinion is the most important piece of federal legislation that was passed in the 20th century for women in this nation. I can’t underscore that enough.”
Grant became the first women’s athletics director at the University of Iowa in 1973. She fought to elevate 11 sports to varsity status in 1974 and successfully boosted the women’s athletic budget from $3,000 in 1973 to $6.9 million in 2000.
In 2007, Grant received the NCAA President’s Gerald R. Ford Award, which honors an advocate for intercollegiate athletics. That same year, Grant was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America by the Institute of International Sport. She also received the Billie Jean King Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation. In 1994, Iowa’s field hockey stadium was renamed “Grant Field.”
Grant was inducted into the UI Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
What she meant for Iowa
Scott Dochterman, Iowa beat writer: Under Grant’s leadership, the Iowa women’s athletics department became the national model, excelling both in competition and in the classroom.
With Grant in place, C. Vivian Stringer led the Hawkeyes women’s basketball team to a Final Four. Gayle Blevins coached the softball squad to the Women’s College World Series four times. A women’s basketball game drew more than 22,000 fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 1984. Grant’s favorite sport — field hockey — won the 1986 title and contended for championships annually. The program was ranked No. 1 this fall.
Her influence was so strong in the Iowa City area that an elementary school was named for her in 2019. Grant’s final hire at Iowa was Lisa Bluder, whose 419 wins are the most by a women’s basketball coach in Big Ten history.
What others say about Grant
Lisa Bluder: “I owe Dr. Grant so much. She hired me to coach at this university that I love so dearly. More importantly, she gave the opportunity to thousands upon thousands of girls to enjoy and benefit from participating in athletics. Without Dr. Grant’s commitment and efforts to gender equality, girls and women would not be able to experience the benefit of sport the way we know it today.
“Dr. Grant taught me to think in a different way. I can hear her words of wisdom bouncing around in my mind now and forever. I love Dr. Grant. She has told me to call her Christine numerous times, but out of respect, she will always be Dr. Grant to me — the woman who helped change the landscape of women’s athletics.”
Former NCAA president Myles Brand said when awarding Grant the Ford Award in 2007: “Christine is a preeminent and passionate leader who represents an entire class of pioneers that broke through barriers to the benefit of women’s sports. She and others did the heavy lifting that has afforded college women athletes the opportunities they enjoy today, and her courage and character have made her a role model for today’s student-athletes and athletics administrators alike.”
Iowa women's tennis coach and former player Sasha Schmid: “My life, like the lives of all women in the United States, was positively and dramatically impacted by Dr. Christine Grant. I am in awe of the scope of Dr. Grant’s meaningful life. Her tireless efforts to fight for gender equity and athletic opportunities for women changed the landscape of our country for the better.
“Beyond her work for women’s equality on the national level, she took a personal interest in every University of Iowa women’s student athlete. She hired the University of Iowa women’s tennis coaches that mentored me and became my lifelong role models. She wrote my letter of recommendation for summer internships, and she advised and encouraged me to attend law school.
“My gratitude for Dr. Grant is immeasurable. The ripple effect of her life’s work will be felt with every generation from today forward. She is a true giant, and a Hawkeye hero. What an incredible life.”
(Photo provided by Hawkeyesports.com)
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