50 Years of Women’s Varsity Sports at Bentley

From basketball to golf, a look back at the march toward equality on the court (field, turf or pool) and off.

by Caroline Pelletier | Photos courtesy of the Bentley Archives and Bentley Athletics

May 15, 2025

Bentley is no stranger to the strength and star power of female athletes.

Under the leadership of beloved coach Barbara Stevens, women’s basketball gained national attention with an undefeated season and NCAA Division II championship in 2014. The field hockey team won Bentley’s first-ever NCAA Division II national championship, and has played in seven additional national championship games. And just this fall, the women’s volleyball team advanced to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament — the first No. 8 seed to upset a No. 1 in the NCAA quarterfinals, and the first NE10 team to advance past the quarterfinals.

But, just as at other schools nationwide, women’s sports weren’t always in the spotlight.

The Rollout of Title IX

Edie (Chadwick) Blackney ’74 was in her final year at Bentley when Title IX, the federal law prohibiting gender discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding, was rolled out: “During my senior year, 1973 to 1974, Title IX came into effect and opened the door for women’s sports at Bentley,” she says. “I joined the basketball team and the men’s team had to share space in the new gym with us.” Blackney, the only senior player, recalls days of no team budget and hand-me-down JV jerseys. In the wake of Title IX, basketball wasn’t the only team established at Bentley — which previously had no varsity women’s sports teams. Softball and field hockey also came into existence in 1974, as did a basketball scholarship program for female students that was the first of its kind in New England. When varsity women’s golf joined Bentley’s team roster in 2024 — exactly 50 years following the establishment of the first women’s varsity teams at the university — the addition made the number of women’s varsity teams and the number of men’s equal at 12.

And Golf Makes 12

“This was truly a dream come true for me,” says Kaitlyn McCarthy ’25, who began advocating for the creation of a women’s golf team at Bentley as soon as she arrived on campus. McCarthy, who was recruited to play golf at other universities but chose Bentley for the strength of its education, went on to become cocaptain of the team. “I could get the Bentley education that I really wanted and also be a student-athlete and represent the school that I learned to love so much.”

“Women’s athletics was a great way to recruit some outstanding young women on this campus who became leaders in the classroom and in the community, and excelled in their athletic endeavors,” says retired Assistant Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator Cindy Scott, who worked at Bentley from 1998 to 2020. Scott praises the dedicated efforts over the years to ensure that women’s athletics were treated equally to men’s and references key figures like late volleyball coach and Assistant Athletics Director Sandy Hoffman and longtime Athletics Director Bob DeFelice as advocates for increased funding, more full-time coaches and more travel opportunities for women’s teams.

“I’m very encouraged by the slate of women’s teams we now have and their rising success,” says Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams, who came to Bentley in 2020. Included in the more recent accomplishments: Women’s lacrosse made it to the NCAA tournament for the first time four years ago, with softball doing the same two years ago, while women’s soccer made the tournament this fall for the second time in program history. “Our priority is to continue to build a space where female athletes can thrive,” Williams says.

Among the commitments the school has already made: Investing in strength and conditioning coaches with experience training for different sports and different bodies. Lucia Robinson-Griggs ’07, a former basketball player who now coaches at MIT, remembers weight training as one-size-fits-all during her time as a student. On a recent visit to campus, however, she was pleased to see the new weight room and the training female athletes received from the sports performance coaches. “There’s a real focus now on these details to make women better athletes through sport-specific functional training,” she says.

The Scholar-Athlete Experience

“Bentley’s female student-athletes come out with a strong sense of confidence in themselves,” says Scott, who returns to campus frequently and takes great pride in following Bentley athletics. “There’s a sense of loyalty and great strength in women supporting women because sometimes we don’t find a lot of support out in the world or in the workforce. And you find that in athletics.”

Courtney Finn ’13, MBA ’15, who played on the national championship-winning 2014 women’s basketball team and is currently Bentley’s associate athletics director and senior woman administrator, agrees. “I would not be the person I am today had I not been given the opportunity to come play basketball here at Bentley,” she says.

For the Love of the Game

Barbara Stevens, the 34-year former head coach of Bentley women’s basketball, was named National Division II Coach of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association five times and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of a class that included Kobe Bryant, Tamika Catchings and Kevin Garnett. Here, in her own words, is her court experience.

“I have a very vivid memory of my first real team participation: I was in eighth grade at my small junior-senior Catholic school, and the high school basketball coach asked me to play. Back then the women’s game had six players per side: two defenders, two offensive players and two rovers. I didn’t even have sneakers that day. I played in the shoes I wore to school! Throughout high school, I played several sports, but basketball was my love. Title IX was enacted my senior year of high school. I attended Bridgewater State College to study health and physical education while the law was being implemented. There were definitely challenges in its enactment, but, thankfully, I had female coaches and instructors as role models to look up to.

When Bentley’s Athletics Director Al Shields hired me to be the women’s basketball coach in 1986, I knew very quickly that this was a great job. The Bentley administration fully supported our program, encouraging us to be the best. We were given the full complement of athletic scholarships for Division II women’s basketball, which was not always the case at other institutions in our conference.

When I was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, it was an incredible honor. I was thrilled to represent Bentley and our entire women’s basketball program.

I feel so fortunate to have had the long career in coaching that I had. Everything we accomplished was due to our incredibly talented athletes and dedicated coaches who worked extremely hard to make our program one of the nation’s best. The continued support from our Bentley administration made it possible for us to achieve our goals.”