The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 30, 1980, Page Page 12, Image 20
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George Rogers
Parsons' influen
rise of women's
By Tammy Kilpatrick (women's athlet
Gamecock Staff Writer the gilis Can han
Public awareness and national prominence of competition the>
women's athletics are growing indications of the "That's what ha
coming of age of women in sports at the college level. a state power to;
Women's athletic director Pam Parsons believes Parsons said v
that recognition of USC's women sports program is history of men's
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...ujv. &C.IW in me giuwui ui wumen s ainiencs as periences. "We
a whole. and deal with p
4'In my opinion, the biggest thing we've achieved is women can dev<
appreciation for young women sports and the can gain," she sj
awareness that women can play and play com
petitively," Parsons said.
PUBLIC SUPPORT around the state has increased
Parsons' confidence in the program. "Now that I J fY"
people are aware we can compete nationally, we've V~^ T-'
made our giant step," she said. "Now we will move j Parsons' clrean
in inches Iowards mnrp mmnocc u/*? timnn..,,!,..,.?-i 'I
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the athletes, have established a good foundation."
According to Parsons, USC has gone from having '
two sports at the outset of the women's athletic 'r, :;pi
ogram in liKi7 to having four teams in a national top " - . .. . "Vr
twenty poll in 1979. "I think the South Carolina1 '. " V
people, the faculty, and the students should be
pleased, because in the past two seasons we've i
moved to having basketball ranked 15th in the
country, tennis finishing seventh, swimming being
ranked tenth, and Softball finishing 13th." *"
Parsons said that women's athletics has moved to
< the point where people are identifying individual
schools and recognizing good women's programs. SBf Jgy
"You can be on an airplane and people sitting next to fljlffipIWi
you will talk !\. you about women's sports," she said. * '
The university's policies towards women's sports ' ' was
aided by government direction. Originally under * '^ 3
tl e jurisdirt'' n of student affairs, the program as
r UJC now has <.? full-time athletic director and awards fHi
KO scholarships a year. USC also began housing its ^
women athletes in the same facilities instead on
having them scattered around campus.
THE GROWTH RATE of women's athletics has
"mushroomed" to &uch proportions that women are M
now faced with Higher levels of intensity in com
t petition than they Save ever known l>efore. They are B
*1 now conmg with many of the competitive pressures
lhat Uc litionally only men have faced. "It's I
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iNexi i ear
Gamecocks vi
By Willie T. Smith III
Gamecock Staff Writer
The 1979 football season was a very momentus one
for USC. It was a year of many firsts, the biggest one
being an eight win season.
Big things were expected before the season began.
USC was ranked in several pre season top 20 polls.
All expectations of a good season were crushed
when Carolina dropped a 28-0 decision to open the
season against rival UNC at Chapel Hill. Thousands
of Gamecock fans made the trek to the game ex
<>i U ii in t iifhlh fiiimUSC
reaches pinnacle of football success
v? a ,~r"'
sS?SK
jrw. uamecock seniors enjoy
/irst win over Clemson
?VO
L JSC falls to Tigers
iti soccer play-off
ce leads iip|
athletics 1
ic program) growing so fast, I hope piJraT |m
die the pressure of being thrown into fW
've never had," Parsons explained.
ppens when teams move from being
a national power."
/omen could benefit by looking at the :*||? Jfctar
? sports and learning from their ex- -Jlr jlflPiM
need a little time to get on our feet - ^
ressure. It all depends on how fast SV ^
elop and how much experience they
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true as
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a
arrives as
isit bowl game
pecting the Gamecocks to totally humiliate the Tar
Heels, but it was not to be.
ALL-AMERICAN candidate George Rogers looked
awkward at tailback after being switched to that
position because of a pre-season injury to teammate
ir?hrmi*? Wrioht Thn fi-9 990 nonnd Rogers Gained 90
yards, but missed several opportunities for big
yardage by consistently reading his blocks wrong.
The Gamecocks opened their home season the
following week against Western Michigan and were
unimpressive in a lackluster 24-7 win. Rogers gained
93 yards in the game, but he still looked uncomfortable
in his new position.
The Duke Blue Devils rolled into town the next
weekend and most Gamecock hopefuls were worried
i about the game. As it turned out, they had no reason
to worry because USC finally showed top 20 form in
an impressive 35-0 victory over their ACC opponent.
The Carolina defense stood out when they made a
goal line stand early in the game that seemed to spur
the offense on. Jim Carlen stuck with his two tight
end offense which he had begun using in the second
half of the Western Michigan game. The extra
blocking paid off. Rogers finally showed AilAmerican
form gaining 160 yards.
| BEATING THE Georgia Bulldogs is something
Gamecock fans dream about. But in 1979, the
Gamecocks made it two years in a row against Vince
Dooley's Bulldogs with a 27-20 win at Sanford
Stadium in Athens, Ga.
| Although the offense struggled and made several
turnovers, the Gamecock offense moved with
relative ease against the Bulldog defense. Carlen
opened up the aerial attack for the first time and
quarterback Garry Harper consistently hit tight end
Willie Scott for good yardage.
Homecoming was on tap the next Saturday when the
Gamecocks faced the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The
game was close all the way, but the Gamecocks came
away with a hard fought 23-16 victory. Rogers had
123 yards in the game.
The Gamecocks experienced their first letdown
against the Ole Miss Rebels. Although they hung on
for the victory USC was not very impressive in the 2114
win. Rogers stretched his streak of 100-yard
games to four and Carolina's took their fifth win.
see Football, page 14
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Coach of the Year:
Pam Parsons
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