Pruitt Field is named in honor of Dr. Peggy Pruitt, current commissioner of the American Lacrosse Conference and a key figure in Ohio Athletics from 1975 to 2001.
Pruitt Field is named in honor of Dr. Peggy Pruitt, current commissioner of the American Lacrosse Conference and a key figure in Ohio Athletics from 1975 to 2001.
Former Ohio Women's Athletics Coordinator Receives National Award

Dr. Peggy Pruitt will be given the Ohio Girls and Women Sport Pathfinder Award

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Oct. 28, 2005

ATHENS, Ohio - Dr. Peggy Pruitt, retired coach and administrator from Ohio University, has been selected to receive the Ohio Girls and Women in Sport Pathfinder Award for 2006. The National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) established the Pathfinder Award to recognize those women who have advocated, recruited, and enhanced sport opportunities for girls and women within their states. The award honors those women who have been instrumental in blazing paths for the future of girl's and women's sports through their leadership and tireless efforts. The Ohio Pathfinder Award is sponsored on behalf of NAGWS by the Ohio Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (OAHPERD), a statewide professional association for physical educators and others with career interests in movement related fields such as sport, athletics, recreation, and leisure.

Dr. Pruitt has been one of Ohio's most visible and valued sport leaders for over 30 years. A standout high school tennis player in her native Louisville, KY, Dr. Pruitt went on to earn her baccalaureate and master's degrees at the University of Kentucky. After a brief coaching career at Nazareth College and subsequently earning her doctoral degree at the University of Illinois, she reported for duty at Ohio University in the Fall of 1975 as the women's tennis and field hockey coach, and Coordinator of Women's Athletics. She remained in coaching until the 1980's when she became a full-time athletics administrator.

In her noteworthy career, Dr. Pruitt became the voice of OU women's athletics, and was a tireless advocate for girls and women athletes around Ohio and the USA. She was instrumental in developing OU's women's sports program when she served on the 1978 Title IX Committee and her initial work helped create 66 athletics grants-in-aid. Her continuing efforts helped raise the number to its current 113 grants-in-aid for OU's women athletes. During her term as Coordinator, OU women's sports grew to sponsor 11 teams, and she oversaw the construction of new practice fields, playing fields, and dressing areas for women athletes.

In between her OU duties, she held numerous committee positions with the Ohio Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women and the Mid-American Conference. She also held several committee positions in the National Collegiate Athletics Association, including a term as Chair of the Committee on Athletics for Women, and as a member of several Compliance Peer Review teams. Her colleagues describe her as caring, fair, and calm under the daily pressures associated with athletics business. She is well known for always being mindful of the best interests of all Ohio University athletes, and doing all the little things that matter to the athletes and teams.

Upon her retirement in 2001, Ohio University honored her contributions by naming "Peggy Pruitt Field," the home of OU field hockey and lacrosse, in her honor. Dr. Pruitt continues to be actively involved in sport administration, and currently serves as the Commissioner of the American Lacrosse Conference.

Pathfinders from each of the 50 states will be honored at the NAGWS General Session/Awards Luncheon at the 2006 Convention of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance in Salt Lake City (April 25 - 29). Dr. Pruitt was selected by an OAHPERD Pathfinder Award Committee consisting of representatives from Ohio public schools, community colleges, and universities. The OAHPERD Committee members stated that they were "especially pleased to honor Dr. Pruitt who was instrumental in providing athletics opportunities to girls and women in an era when opportunities were limited."

The Committee sent Dr. Pruitt's name forward to NAGWS, stating that OAHPERD was pleased to honor her significant contributions to Ohio girl's and women's sport programs and felt that her selection continued Ohio's tradition of selecting Pathfinders who have been outstanding girl's and women's sports leaders in the state. Past Pathfinder Award winners for Ohio have been Doris Drees, Dayton; Dorothy Leudtke, Bowling Green; Susan J. Gavron, Bowling Green; Rita Marie Ernst Schnipke, Ft. Jennings; Patricia K. Fehl, Terrace Park; Patricia Buck, Euclid; Helen A. Ludwig, Ada; Sue A. Hager, Bowling Green; former Olympian Lucinda Williams Adams, Dayton; and Mary Motley, Macedonia.

For more information on the award, please contact Jacquelyn Cuneen of OAHPERD at 419-372-7231.