In an article by J.R. Headington published in 1878, croquet, one of the few sports in which women could participate, was blamed for the downfall of women. Headington traced the descent of women, saying their socializing while playing croquet would lead to their absence from church, in turn, leading to their inevitable shame, disgrace and finally ruin.
More than a century ago, still under the rule of an old Victorian ideal, American women began the tentative journey in to college athletics. That still continues today at SF State and universities throughout the nation.
Though women's sports are far from the days in which they were considered the shameful downfall of society, often they still do not offer the same opportunities that are available in men's sports.
The California chapter of the National Organization for Women decided in 1992 that inequality was no longer acceptable and filed a lawsuit against the California State University system.
According to Linda Joplin, who sits on the board of directors of the state chapter of NOW and was a party in the lawsuit, NOW didn't see anything changing to give women the same benefits as men.
The result of that lawsuit, called the CALNOW consent decree, required the CSU system to move toward equality in both the number of participating athletes and the amount of money spent on athletic programs in order to maintain federal funding.
The first steps SF State took toward compliance included the elimination of the football program and plans for the addition of a women's tennis team.
Now that SF State has moved toward compliance with the consent decree, coaches of women's athletic teams are looking forward to the many new opportunities.
Four women's teams -- softball, swimming, cross country, and track and field -- will be required to recruit more women, and were given the funds to do so.
According to financial figures for the 1994-95 school year, women's athletics only received 31 percent of the $1.1 million spent on the intercollegiate athletic program. The top two men's programs, football and basketball, received more than 32 percent of the funds combined.
Redistribution of the funds previously directed to football will allow women's teams enough money to recruit more athletes from a variety of high schools and junior colleges, both in the Bay area and in southern California.
Track and field and cross country coach Randi Lydum said the chance for her to do more active recruiting will be a welcome benefit that could bolster the quality of SF State's teams.
Lydum said, "If you're competing with another school for an athlete, you have to be able to offer them something. I want to be able to bring more students on campus to stay the night, and to show them the city."
In previous years Lydum has done most of her recruiting by phone and mail, and that has made it difficult to get athletes who are not from the Bay area.
"I think there's something to be said for having athletes from the area, but I would like to be able to go to southern California to recruit," Lydum said. "I haven't been able to fly down for a big meet to see athletes in the past. The budget increases will make it a little bit easier, and we'll have more to offer as a result."
SF State Athletic Director Betsy Alden said she is more concerned with the future now that past inequality has been addressed.
She said, "Now what's important is that the NCAA give women an opportunity."
For SF State, that means giving existing women's athletic teams more money to use for recruiting and equipment in addition to a new tennis team.
Even some of the athletes already competing for the Gators remain skeptical of how much the university will change, even with the measures taken to move toward equality.
Kim Cordoni, pitcher and catcher for the Gator softball team, said, "Even though we're adding tennis, we still have to recruit women athletes. I just don't think it will bring a whole bunch of new athletes to SF State. I certainly hope it will, but there isn't a whole lot to offer."
Swimming coach Bruce Brown pointed out that SF State's lack of scholarships makes it more difficult to get top athletes into the school.
"It always comes down to 'Do you have any scholarships?'" Brown said. "We just wince and say no."
He also explained that no matter how much you recruit, there is never a guarantee that those students will actually come to SF State.
"Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't," Brown said. "I just wish more students here would take advantage of the opportunity to participate, because it is there. It's not like we're Division I Stanford. We're doing everything we can, and we really are working in the spirit of the law."
According to Lydum, the biggest result of the increased recruiting is that more women will have opportunities for advancement in athletics that have always been present in men's sports.
Lydum said she has noticed that a lot of high school girls don't think they can compete at the college level.
"The girls who have average skills could play here, but they don't seem to think they have the ability," Lydum said. "I haven't found that with high school boys. I don't think it's as much an opportunity issue as much as a confidence issue at that level."
Both Brown and Lydum said that high school coaches should encourage young athletes to continue to play in college, because there are opportunities available for those who keep playing.
"We're kind of the end of the food chain here," Brown said.