COLLEGE SPORTS BRIEFS: Allene Stovall, WT women's athletics pioneer, passes away at 88
Allene Stovall, a pioneer in women's athletics, passed away earlier this week at the age of 88.
Stovall, an inductee into the West Texas A&M Hall of Champions in 1997, was the driving force behind the creation of women's athletic teams at WT. Under her leadership, the programs grew to national prominence years later as West Texas State became West Texas A&M University. As an instructor in WT's sports and exercise department, Stovall organized the first women's basketball and volleyball teams in 1963 and 1964. She coached WTSU women's basketball, volleyball, rifle and bowling teams; she helped start the school's badminton and softball teams.
Eventually, 10 women's teams were established. All the coaches were volunteers.
Beginning in 1967, Allene joined coaches from across the United States to establish a centralized governing body for intercollegiate athletics for women. In the early years, WT joined the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Stovall served on the AIAW's Ethics and Eligibility Committee. Finally in the early 1980s, the NCAA recognized some women's sports and made provisions to add more. Stovall served as the women's athletic director until 1981 and taught at WT for 41 years, retiring as an assistant professor in 2001. In 1980, Stovall received WT's Faculty Excellence Award. Allene was also recognized with an induction to the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame and the Amarillo Globe News Top 100 Sports Legends of the Panhandle. Allene was born Jan. 15, 1934, in Amarillo, Texas, to A. L. and Lela Mae Burrell Stovall. She graduated from Panhandle High School and studied two years at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, before graduating with a Bachelor of Science and Master's of Science from Baylor University. Graveside services will be at Panhandle Cemetery on Friday, July 22 at 10:00 a.m. followed by a memorial service at First Baptist Church in White Deer at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials go to the Allene Stovall Scholarship Fund.
WT women's golf
The Lady Buffs earned the 2021-22 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-Scholar Team GPA Award for the first time since 2012. The award recognizes the women's collegiate golf program with the highest collective average team GPA which includes all the team's student-athletes for the 2021-22 season.
The Lady Buffs finished 15th in the nation while averaging a GPA of 3.735 that was led by WGCA All-American Scholars Alyssa Campbell, Rylie Cook and Antonella Periotti Omisolo.
WT women's track and field
The WT women's track & field program was named the NCAA Division II Women's Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Team of the Year released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's offices.
Twelve student-athletes from WT received All-Academic Athlete awards. The Lady Buffs maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.307 and won the team title at the 2022 NCAA DII Outdoor Track & Field Championships. This marks the first time in program history that the Lady Buffs received the team award.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: WT Sports Briefs: Buffs athletics mourns passing of Allene Stovall
