Memorial Auditorium

Joan Hult was a Physical Education Professor at Concordia College.

Memorial Auditorium was the center of all Cobber activities upon its completion in 1952. [1] From the 1950s onwards, women’s athletics faced considerable hardships. However, as a whole, women athletes have grown from these hard times. Physical Education Professor, Joan Hult, organized Women’s Recreation Association (previously WAA) meetings beginning in 1956. Soon after, in 1958, women’s teams began to compete in intercollegiate play against Moorhead State and North Dakota State in what Professor Hult called “sports days.” These sports days grew to nine teams by 1968. In her years at Concordia, Professor Hult coached every women’s sports team and also taught physical education. Professor Hult was not just an influential person at Concordia; she also played a role in the passing of Title IX in Washington D.C. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) looked to Hult and the great program she began at Concordia as a model in making NCAA available for women across the nation. Professor Hult was the first woman to be inducted into Concordia’s Athletic Hall of Fame. She believed in more than just her own accomplishments. When she was inducted she claimed, “It was about the recognition that women’s sports matter and that they should be a part of the scene.” [2] This shows her extreme dedication to female athletes and equality.

MaryLee Legried, Nancy Jacobson, and Jessica Beachy hold the NCAA trophy, 1988.

Many female teams have experienced success in Memorial Auditorium. For example, the 1982 women’s basketball team won the national championship for small colleges sponsored by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Also, in 1987 the women’s basketball team took second in the NCAA Division III tournament, but came back in the 1988 season to win the championship on the home court in Memorial Auditorium. This team included Jessica Beachy who was named the NCAA Division III player of the year. [3] Many women’s teams continue to be successful in Memorial Auditorium.

[1] J.L. Schoberg, Concordially Yours (Moorhead, Minnesota: SAGA Publishers, 1994), 24.

[2] Concordia College Archives: Moorhead, Minnesota. Joan Hult, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-25^th Anniversary of Women’s Athletics Profile: Joan Hult, Concordia. Kelly Anderson Diercks, MIAC 1/22/2008.

[3] Concordia College, “Athletic Tradition:Champoionships,” Concordia College Athletics, Accessed November 3, 2013,  http://concordiamn.prestosports.com/athleticTradition/championships.