FEATURE SUSAN RUSS
It Put Us on the Track The Title IX story of former Harpeth Hall Athletic Director Susan Russ
By Mary Ellen Pethel, Ph.D. An excerpt from “Title IX, Pat Summitt, and Tennessee’s Trailblazers: 50 Years, 50 Stories,” available through University of Tennessee Press in fall 2022
My
story is like many others during this time,” recalled Susan Russ, but most would beg to differ. This women’s sport pioneer ushered in a new era of track and field at Memphis State University (today’s University of Memphis). After graduating from Murray State in 1966 with a master’s in physical education, Russ taught at the University of Tennessee-Martin for a year before making the move to Memphis. In 1967, Susan Russ accepted a teaching position in physical education at Memphis State University. A year into the job, Susan and her husband, Kent, had a conversation that would shape the rest of her life. When she told him that she wanted to coach, they ticked off the short list of sports open to females at the university: gymnastics, basketball, and volleyball. Kent, who was a track standout at Vanderbilt University, said, “What about track and field? That’s what you should do, you should start a team.” “And that’s how I got into track,” Russ recounted. Russ approached Elma Roane, the director of the women’s division of physical education, who said, “Sure! Great idea. Go for it.” Susan put up posters around the student center, calling for any interested female students to sign up and attend tryouts. The lack of funding or pay seemed to motivate rather than deflate Russ as the fledgling program took flight. The men’s track coach saw Russ in the hall one day and said, “Hey, I heard you’re starting a women’s track team, I think that’s great.” “And it was
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great,” continued Russ, “until I showed up on the track with the girls.” The coach told Russ that her team was not allowed on the track to practice with the men’s team, which was a sanctioned NCAA sport. She went to the Director of Athletics and Dean of Students, and they gave her the same answer — no, she could not use the track if the men were practicing. The university’s track had no lights, and many times it was dark by the time the men’s team finished. Undeterred, Russ took to the fields — practicing in nearby pastures in the afternoons. When the team needed to work on intervals or use equipment, they would practice at 6-7:30 a.m. “and watch the sunrise.” They traveled to nearby schools, such as Austin Peay and Murray State, to compete against other women’s teams. Racial integration at Memphis State began in 1959, and Russ’s success was due, in large part, to the team’s diversity. Russ fondly remembers those early years and teams: “They were an incredibly hard-working group of young women who loved to run and jump and throw.” After three years of building a track program without a track, Russ was elated when Title IX was passed: “What did Title IX mean to me and my girls? It put us on the track.” With Title IX winds at her back, Susan Russ built a powerhouse program from 1972 to 1979, and she also established a cross country team. Title IX had an immediate impact for Russ’s teams as they became part of the university’s athletic program and,
