Nets and nursing â the early days of womenâs basketball at Villanova
Women's basketball was captured on the pages of the Belle Air yearbook.
From its early days of applying adhesive tape numbers and hunting for a court, womenâs basketball at Villanova has grown to a nationally recognized program. Its roots can be traced to a young nursing student with a love of the game.
âIt was never an âequal rightsâ reason to play. I simply loved the game,â emphasizes Alice Finore Brogan â70 BSN, MSN, RN. This longtime adjunct faculty member in the College of Nursing, who specializes in psychiatric-mental health nursing, organized what would become the first team, thereby launching womenâs basketball at Villanova.
Brogan had skill and passion behind her. She had played CYO, intramural and high school basketball. College was not to be the end of her career. Brogan remembers holding firm when space became an issue, âBack in 1967, my sophomore year at ĂŰĚŇTV, a small group of women would play basketball in Alumni Hall. The boys would try to bump us out but I had reserved the gym-and later the Field House- to practice and play our games.â
Brogan asked retired Army nurse and pediatric nursing instructor Evelyn Behanna to be the coach and moderator of the new squad. âShe agreed and so began the early makings of the Villanova womenâs basketball team,â Brogan recalls.
Unsure of what kind of response she would get, Brogan placed tryout signs in strategic locations throughout the campus. âI talked to my colleagues, underclasswomen, nursing students, sorority members, and the Belle Air staff about trying out for the team. To my surprise, forty-eight women tried out and I was thrilled,â she notes. Among those she encouraged to try out was classmate Mary Ann Eckert â70 BSN, who made the team.
Despite formation of a team, a court was never a guarantee. Brogan offers, âOn several occasions, our team would get kicked out of the field house despite the fact that we had reserved the court. It was hard to secure the court space especially prior to a menâs game as visiting teams would come in the night before for practice time.â
Undeterred, Brogan says she, along with Marie Maguire and Rosie Greyson, went to Eastern College (now University) after their 1968-69 season and added Villanova to the womenâs league.
Basketball kept this already-busy student even busier. âAs a nursing student in clinical two days a week at Philadelphia hospitals, I had only three days outside of long labs and classes to see Father Robert Wesson, the head of extracurricular activities. Starting a new team meant things like ordering uniforms and hiring a coach,â recalls Brogan. When the new uniforms arrived, she had to use adhesive tape to create numbers on each pleated tunic.
The teamâs new coach was Elizabeth Cawley, a former player at Cabrini College. Reflecting on the season, Brogan says, âWe played Immaculata University â âThe Mighty Macs- who were national champs, Rosemont College and Gwynedd-Mercy College who had the infamous Mary Ellen Barnett on their team. She had a jump shot some boys wished they had! We lost to Gwynedd-Mercy College by 32 points that year.â
Brogan co-captained the team in 1969-1970 and organized all league games, regulations, practices and tryouts. âThat year we were recognized on campus and pictured in the Belle-Air yearbook. They were fun, exciting and great years⌠a new beginning,â she notes.
Over the years, Brogan had played in many alumnae games âfamily events, she calls them- and looks forward to watching this seasonâs match as well as the current teamâs games. âIt is exciting to see the programâs growth over the years,â she offers.
Describing her interests, Brogan says âI truly enjoy people and working toward a team goal.â What did she learn from the basketball start-up experience? She states, âDon't be afraid to start something new.â