After Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes’ record-breaking March Madness views and the Kansas City Current’s first season in the only stadium built solely for a professional women’s sports team, there was no better year to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Women’s Athletics at Rockhurst University.
Following the passage of Title IX in 1972, which mandated equal opportunities and resources for female athletes in educational institutions receiving federal funding, bowling became the first women’s athletic team at Rockhurst.
Since then, Rockhurst added women’s programs for basketball, volleyball and tennis in 1976, soccer in 1990, golf in 1995, softball in 2004, cross country and lacrosse in 2013 and track and field and swim and dive in 2023.
Today Rockhurst has 10 NCAA Division II women’s sports programs and over 250 female student-athletes.
Members of the Rockhurst community gathered the weekend of April 12-14 to celebrate the anniversary of 50 years of women’s sports and the strong women who have been members of the programs.
The celebration kicked off with a luncheon with President Sandra Cassady, Ph.D. on Friday, followed by numerous opportunities throughout the weekend to support current student-athletes competing in women’s lacrosse, softball, soccer and volleyball.
The climax of the weekend, however, was Saturday night, the 50 Years of Women’s Athletics Blue Carpet Reception and Celebration Program. Attendees connected with female athletes of all ages and heard from guests Kara Hess, deputy director of leadership development at Women Leaders in Sports, and Katherine Holland, executive director of KC2026. Following the speakers was a panel conversation, “Reflections on 50 Years of Women’s Athletics at Rockhurst University,” featuring alumni and current student-athlete representatives.
Awards were presented to current and former athletes who have earned recognition for their accomplishments within and beyond sports.
The recipient of the St. Ignatius Alumni Award was presented to women’s basketball alumna Eva Schreiber ‘02, ‘05 MBA for her outstanding work as the co-founder and CEO of Golden Scoop. Opened in April of 2021 in Overland Park, Kansas, Golden Scoop is a non-profit ice cream and coffee shop that offers meaningful employment to individuals with developmental disabilities, serving homemade ice cream and coffee while bringing joy and purpose to the community. Schreiber and Golden Scoop earned $62,000 in revenue in their first two-and-a-half weeks, launched a catering business and were featured on Good Morning America for their inspiring work.
The Taylor (Skala) Sares Student-Athlete of the Year Award honors the top female athlete at Rockhurst University. This year’s recipient was senior volleyball player Maureen Reilly, one of the most decorated athletes in university history. Reilly is majoring in biochemistry with a minor in general business and has been named several times to All-American teams and was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2024. Reilly plans to continue playing for the university in her upcoming fifth year while she works towards a healthcare management and change management certificate and applies to physicians’s assistant programs.
As the weekend concluded, Rockhurst continues to celebrate the achievements of all female athletes, both past and present.
To support Rockhurst’s women’s athletics and the outstanding female athletes that comprise the programs, all are invited to donate to the 50 for 50 Fund. All of the money donated goes towards funding the needs of the women’s athletic teams, including but not limited to, travel to postseason and national competitions, new equipment and training gear, athletic scholarships and future initiatives in women’s athletics.
