DENVER – MSU Denver has for decades been a leader in providing equal opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics.
Today is the 49th installment of a 52-part tribute by Roadrunners Athletics to pioneers and leaders in intercollegiate athletics at MSU Denver. The series coincides with the passage of Title IX.
Each Thursday, a key female figure in Roadrunners athletics history will be recognized.
Today, former coach and administrator Jane Kober is featured.
In the early days of MSU Denver Athletics, Kober was one of the main pioneers, completing 16 years of service for the athletics department. Kober coached women's basketball and women's tennis in addition to functioning as women's athletic director. In 1970, Kober took over duties as head women's basketball coach and held that position for 10 years ending in 1980. During the 1974 season, Kober accepted the position of women's athletic director and head women's tennis coach. She served as women's AD until 1982 and coached the women's tennis team until 1986.
Kober earned a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1962 from the Wisconsin-Oshkosh and went on to earn her master's degree in 1969 from Arizona State in physical education. At MSU Denver, she served as a professor in the department of human performance, sport & leisure studies upon her arrival in 1969.
She was inducted into the MSU Denver Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995.
Title IX, the groundbreaking law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at schools that receive funding from the federal government, went into effect just over 50 years ago – on June 23, 1972.
