NASHVILLE — Tennessee State University director of track and field Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice was recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference as a Title IX Pioneer.

She has led the women's track and field program to nine Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championships and is also a nine-time OVC Coach of the Year.

On Wednesday, June 1, the league sponsored a Title IX Luncheon, that honored 13 pioneers from its current and future members institutions.  The honorees, picked by each school, include:

• Chandra Cheeseborough-Guice, Tennessee State
• Lin Dunn, Austin Peay
• Betty Wiseman, Belmont
• Dr. Gail Richard, Eastern Illinois
• Bre Watts, Lindenwood
• Karen Aston, Little Rock
• Deanie Brown, Morehead State
• Margaret Simmons, Murray State
• Cindy Gannon, Southeast Missouri
• Rosemarie Archangel, SIUE
• Patty Marcum, Southern Indiana
• Marynell Meadors, Tennessee Tech
• Bettye Giles, UT Martin

June 23, 2022 marks the 50th Anniversary of Title IX, which was signed into law in 1972 as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It states:
 
"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity."
 
The OVC established women's championships in the sports of basketball, tennis and track in 1977 with cross country and volleyball added over the next four years. Those sports were initially governed by the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), but the overall strength of women's programs in the league was demonstrated by the automatic bids the OVC instantly received when the NCAA became the governing body in 1982. The conference added women's golf and softball in 1994 with women's soccer following in 1998.
 
Additional information on the celebration can also be found on the NCAA's website: ncaa.org/titleix50.