Women's Basketball and Men's Cross Country (1:00 Class)

Our group studied Women’s Basketball and Men’s Cross Country at Bowling Green State University. We were interested in studying women’s basketball at BGSU because two of our group members are currently a part of the team, Tracy Pontius (below, #5) and Jessica Tamerlano (also below). In addition, with all the past and recent success of the team, it provided a chance for the two current team members to learn the history about the team that they are a part of. Overall, choosing to study the women’s basketball was a very sensible choice.


Even though the women’s team did not officially become a part of BGSU athletics until mid 1970’s after the passage of Title IX, women’s basketball has been a part of Bowling Green as early as 1918. (S. Hager, personal communication, March 26, 2010). Initially, women’s basketball started with literary societies sponsoring two teams: the “Emersonians,” and the “Wilsonians.” However, the team was discontinued in the 1930’s and resumed again in 1952 by Dorothy Luedke.

Throughout the women’s basketball history, there have been a tremendous number of great coaches such as Fran Voll, and current coach Curt Miller (see below). Miller has won six straight MAC Championships in a row for BG and has play in the post season for four year, with two NCAA appearances.

Great BGSU Basketball Coaches (L-R): Curt Miller, Sue Hager, Nora Liu, and Fran Voll.

In addition to the coaches, there were some great athletes. One of the most memorable teams was the 2006 “Sweet Sixteen” team headed by Curt Miller. Some of the team members included Kate Achter (below), Ali Mann, Liz Honneger, and Carin Horne.

Ali Mann (below) gets fired up! Liz Honegger takes one of her famous "threes" (below).

Carin Horne (above) played an integral role on BGSU's most successful team ever.

On the other hand, the men’s cross country team at BGSU was assigned to us since we had the first team selection choice. Though one of our group members is a former runner, the remaining members learned many different things about this sport and previous team that they would never have came across otherwise. So even though our group didn’t necessarily pick this team, it was a very good team to research with a lot of interesting history.

The Men’s Cross Country team started in 1927 and usually consisted of 5 - 7 players. Now the teams are a bit bigger and range from 7 - 17 members. After cross country began at BGSU, it didn’t really break through until 1960 when Coach Mel Brodt took over.

Coach Mel Brodt (below) can be considered the most successful coach for the men’s team considering he coached for the longest, 24 years (1960 - 1972). In addition, his success will greatly be remembered as BG has named a home invitational meet to honor his legacy (The Mel Brodt Invitational). During his coaching period one of the most memorable events happened between the years 1969-1972. During this period, the team had a four-year run of finishing among the top 10 at the Nationals. In addition, well known athletes include Sid Sink and Dave Wottle, who was also an Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1972 Olympic games.

Now, men’s cross country at BG is coached by Cami Wells (below), who happens to be the first woman to ever coach the team. Current runners include Jason Salyer (below), Christopher Moody, and Jesse Smuda. In addition, Wells coaches the women’s cross country and women’s track team at BGSU.

Jason Salyer (below), is the team's only freshman.

Overall, BGSU has had tremendous success with both the Women’s Basketball and Men’s Cross Country teams. The challenge of taking on the role of historical researchers was both challenging and beneficial. In the end, it only increased our knowledge of the sport history here at Bowling Green State University and will help us with any profession in the future.

Members of this Group include: Lucas Kraus, Tracy Pontius, Marcus Rodriguez, Dominique Simmons, and Jessica Tamerlano.