Introduction
Women in athletics at Concordia College and around the nation have faced and overcome much adversity. They have progressed from the very beginning in the 1920s, when Concordia women had no right being in a gym, to the present day, when gym space and time is split equally between males and females. These rights did not come quickly or easily. Many people have fought at all different levels for women’s rights in schools and sports. From the pre-Title IX era to today, women are still fighting for equality. This walk on Women’s Athletics at Concordia focuses on three main buildings. First we will discuss the old Berg Art Center. Once known as the gymnasium, the Berg Art Center held all kinds of sports and activities from 1915-1953.[1] It is actually the second gymnasium on Concordia’s campus, but just the first one that females could use. The second location is the recreation room in Fjelstad Hall; this room played a large part in the Women’s Recreation Association.[2] The final location on this walk is Memorial Auditorium which opened in 1952 and is at the heart of athletics at Concordia.[3]
[1] Concordia College Archives, Moorhead, Minnesota. Berg Art Center Building File, Concordia College Buildings.
[2] Concordia College Yearbook 1952, “The Cobber” 196.
[3] Carroll Engelhardt, On Firm Foundation Grounded (Moorhead, Minnesota: Concordia College, 1991), 248.