The Journey of Change

Coach Jeanne Sutherland enters her first season as the Nebraska women’s golf head coach in 2022-23, but the Dubuque, Iowa, native has spent more than 40 years in collegiate golf. Her time as a high school athlete came soon after the passing of Title IX, and she played golf collegiately at Northern Iowa before it was an NCAA sport. An AIAW All-American as a competitor, Sutherland is a four-time conference coach of the year and has led four teams to NCAA Championship appearances among her 18 teams to compete at NCAA Regionals. The PGA Class A Professional was also the winner of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Founders Award in 2017, and the WGCA Kim Evans Award in 2018.

Summer Leaguing 🏐💞#LoveThisTeam #LadyWolverines #Fun@NCSCovington pic.twitter.com/C3b8EuHtJC

— Rylie (@ryliekuyper) June 14, 2023

The basic idea behind Title IX has always been to prohibit sex-based discrimination in schools. In the context of college athletics, its most fundamental concept is to provide equal opportunities to female college athletes.

When I was an athlete back in the day, I obviously didn't think about Title IX or was even aware of it, to be honest. After all, it had just passed a few years before I started playing golf at Northern Iowa.

However, at Northern Iowa, I was exposed to Title IX for the first time. My coach was a very vocal supporter of the mandate. She was the first person I met who was a real squeaky wheel. 

If Coach wasn't getting the grease, she was going to speak about it. I learned a lot of good lessons from her.

Moving mountains

My biggest takeaway was to always stand up for the program and ask for what you need. Never be afraid to hear someone tell you no.

Things were obviously very different back in those days than they are now. Some of the things you probably wouldn't even think about were just difficult for women to get. Things like going to the weight room for a workout, flying to big matches, or even having multiple outfits to wear — it often was like moving mountains. 

Stuff like that is pretty commonplace today, but back then, that just wasn't the case.

We drove everywhere—no matter the distance—and we only got one uniform per year. By the time I was a senior, I remember my freshman shirt being in my four-shirt rotation for matches. You could see through the shoulder of it because I carried my bag on my right side all of the time.

That's all we had and we made it work. When I was an athlete, I just cared about being an athlete. I was so grateful for the opportunity and simply enjoyed my time — regardless of how many uniforms I had.

We just didn't have the same opportunities as a lot of the male athletes. It was basically a situation where it felt like we were always playing catch-up.

Being a bridge-builder

I wouldn't say we've caught up entirely, but we have come a long way. I've definitely made sure to carry the things I've learned with me on this coaching journey.

Even during those tough early days as a player, one of the things that isn't talked about enough is the generosity of the coaches. They obviously knew we didn't have access to many of the things we needed. So there was a lot of love and care that came out of their own pockets.

They did a lot for us that ranged from feeding us at tournaments to making holidays feel special. I still remember the Illinois coach putting Easter baskets together for us. That kind of support really mattered.

So, even though Title IX has come a long way, I still try to carry on the same love and appreciation as a coach for my players. I will stand on a soap box and fight for my team. I think I've done that my whole career.

I'm not an enemy-maker by any stretch of the imagination. I'm a bridge-builder. I'm always going to try and make connections with people. At the same time, I'm going to be very clear about what our program needs to be successful.

That line of thinking hasn't changed regardless of the positions I've held.

I'm a firm believer that if you're clear about things and you work hard — if you put the right amount of care into your program — the people around you will step up and give that care right back. 

You don't get anything in this world if you don't ask for it.

The hidden inequalities

I'm a firm believer that we can do better. 

Nationwide, women are not paid equally to men. It's especially bad when our credentials are just as good or even better in some cases. There are still plenty of hidden inequities that go unnoticed due to the systemic nature of everything.

In some instances the men's golf team will get free balls, gloves and shoes because of a partnership with an apparel company. The women's team doesn't get those same benefits. On paper, our budgets are exactly the same, but in reality, our budgets are not the same.

The premise surrounding Title IX is admirable, but the real life application still has a long way to go. We never want to get to a place where we become stagnant, thinking that one thing is going to fix everything.

We have to roll up our sleeves and put in the work to push things forward and create a better future. The last thing we want is to get to a point where things start feeling like paid lip service.

I'll be a squeaky wheel, if I need to be, and do what it takes to help push for equality. We’ve still got grease that needs added to the wheels, but we have been moving in the right direction for 50 years because of Title IX.