Former Ohio field hockey coach Catherine Brown died Aug. 6, but her legacy lives on in the form of a commemorative patch.
Her contribution to Ohio University and its women’s sports was anything but simple.
Brown, a native of Ireland, first came to Ohio as a visiting professor in 1964. She left following her one-year professor stint, but one year after leaving Athens, the university offered her a permanent position as both a teacher and coach.
She was initially a field hockey player who competed for the Irish national team and later coached the Bobcats.
Brown created Ohio’s women’s track and field program in 1966 and the Bobcats’ women’s lacrosse team four years later. She was also an assistant coach for Ohio’s women’s basketball team during her early career in Athens.
Her fight to introduce new sports at the school made her a significant figure in Ohio’s Title IX fight, bringing equality to the university’s athletics department and creating more roles in which women could excel
athletically.
“To be involved with multiple sports is such a great achievement,” said Ohio field hockey coach Neil Macmillan. “Starting those at a place like this and getting them in a position where they can be certainly recognized as somewhat equal to the men’s programs is remarkable.”
Macmillan’s job is directly impacted by Brown’s work, and he feels that what she did for Ohio’s field hockey program, as well as her efforts to improve athletics for women, deserves recognition.
“She was huge in terms of Title IX and my job doesn’t exist if we don’t have Title IX,” he said. “And these players don’t get the opportunities they get right now if not for Title IX. She was very instrumental in starting women’s athletics the way we know it.”
Macmillan educated his team about Brown’s impact at Ohio because of what she has, in part, built for them. Several Ohio field hockey players expressed their appreciation for the women’s athletics landscape they’ve inherited at Ohio.
“She was a huge part of Title IX and being female athletes; that’s a huge thing for us,” said junior Jessica Vaeth. “We get the chance to play and be represented like the men’s sports. …Wearing the patches is a really good chance to honor her and know what she did for us.”
Brown was one of the most successful coaches in the history of Ohio’s field hockey program, as the Bobcats went 25-7-5 during her four-year career — all while she was the assistant coach of the track and field team and garnering support for the lacrosse program.
“She was a big supporter of the program and had a great network of alumni that she kept in touch with,” Macmillan said. “They were very passionate about her and she was very beloved as a coach by her players.”
Macmillan didn’t know Brown well, but she was present at almost every home game the Bobcats played until her death and was a staunch supporter of the program. She continued to keep close to the team far after her coaching career came to a close.
Brown is posthumously being inducted to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame in November 2013, ensuring that her impact on field hockey and women’s sports across the country are preserved forever.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
