Rowing to christen new boat in honor of Conradt
April 7, 2009
WHAT: Christening of The University of Texas varsity eight boat “Jody Conradt” WHY: To honor former Women’s Basketball coach and Women’s Athletics Director Jody Conradt WHERE: The University of Texas Rowing Center on Town Lake WHEN: Saturday, April 11, 2009 at 10 a.m. Jody Conradt’s legacy at The University goes beyond the basketball court, where she directed the Longhorns for 31 years and amassed 900 career victories. While serving as Women’s Athletics Director from 1992-2001, Conradt also administered the addition of Women’s Rowing as a UT varsity sport in 1997. The Jody Conradt boat will be housed in the Texas Rowing Center alongside seven other shells named for prominent figures in Texas history -- the Donna Lopiano, the Barbara Jordan, the Dr. Sheila Rice, the Dr. Lorene Rogers, the Dr. Edwin Sharpe, the Ilrey Althea Sparks and the Ann Richards. Comments from Texas Women’s Athletics Director Chris Plonsky: Our rowing coach, Carie Graves, is extremely appreciative of the humanities and history. She often imparts such wisdom and shares significant stories to her women student-athletes as part of her coaching style. We've had boat-namings for many prominent leaders of Texas. Suffice it to say that any reflection on the history of UT and UT Athletics could not be written without noting the loyal service, groundbreaking leadership and record achievements, earned with honor and humility, of Jody Conradt. Comments from Texas Rowing Coach Carie Graves: We have a history of naming boats ourselves, and this time, coming up with the Jody Conradt was pretty easy. It’s just a natural. The boat is burnt orange. It says Texas and so does Jody. She’s an obvious choice.
I wanted to name boats after influential figures from Texas, partly to educate my rowers on who these people are and how they impacted lives. It’s part of the educational process, and we want everyone to know about Jody and who she is. She’s been an amazing role model for so many, not just here in Texas but across the country. |
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