In honor of the anniversary of Title IX, Colgate University celebrates 50 years of women’s athletics.
Recruited by Colgate for the field hockey team, Thayer (Jacques) ’93 Lavielle instead chose to play lacrosse and club ice hockey — her first foray into organized competition on skates. With the ice hockey team, she says, “I found a group of women who were really fun, but competitive, focused. We didn’t just show up to skate. We showed up to compete, and we were good.”
Although Lavielle began playing at Colgate in the late ’80s — almost two decades after it became a fully coeducational institution — she and other women student- athletes had limited resources. They still relied on uniforms and equipment the men’s team no longer needed, or they bought their own sticks and skates. Their jerseys had numbers but no names. Games were played at Starr Rink, but the team did not have locker rooms, so players changed in the hallways. Their coach was a fellow student. Recruitment was limited to finding women who were already on campus, knew how to play the sport, and were willing to pay the $25 fee.
In 1990–91, the club team operated on a budget of $4,600. While women’s hockey received more funding than other club teams, it totaled only 2% of the men’s hockey budget. Men traveled on buses provided by Colgate for away games, and women paid $0.25 per mile to rent a University van. Some players used their own vehicles. Once a year, the club team received money for a hotel. Otherwise, they stayed at the homes of family and friends for road trips.
Yet women’s hockey was one of the most popular club sports on campus, drawing 30 to 40 players per year. Moreover, they were a winning team during each of Lavielle’s four years at Colgate, taking on both varsity and club teams at universities throughout the Northeast.
During a tournament in Boston, Colgate advanced to the finals despite being a major underdog. It was one of Lavielle’s most memorable experiences — “a really big deal” — from her days as a hockey player.
Face-off
Fed up with the lack of resources provided, some members of the women’s hockey team decided to sue the University in 1991. Jennifer Baldwin Cook ’91 spearheaded the lawsuit and recruited Lavielle, Melissa Ehlers ’91, Christine Price ’92, and Julie Wolf ’93 to serve as plaintiffs. Known as Cook v. Colgate University, it turned into a three-year legal battle.
The women argued that they should have the same resources as the men’s team. The University countered that the cost to maintain a hockey program was high. Interest in women’s hockey was growing but still small, and only the most well-funded universities in the Northeast offered the sport.
“I remember doing depositions, going to law offices, sitting there for hours, and lawyers telling us why we shouldn’t get it,” Lavielle says.
The court initially ruled in favor of the students, but the suit was ultimately dismissed on appeal.
The players did not give up, and after Lavielle graduated, the team eventually came to an agreement with Colgate: Women’s club hockey became a varsity program in 1997, and Colgate provided $40,000 in annual funding, ensuring the program received adequate equipment and new uniforms.
Lavielle was in the real world by that time. When she heard the news, she felt gratified.
Overtime
After graduating, Lavielle moved to Paris and then returned to the United States to begin a job at ABC News in New York, where she worked before taking a job in public relations for L’Oreal.
Today, she is an executive vice president at Wasserman, a global sports and entertainment agency, where she founded The Collective, the agency’s division dedicated to advancing the power of women. Working with brands like AT&T and Gatorade, The Collective raises the visibility of women across the world, largely through the creation of proprietary tools and resources, a networked community of executives and organizations, and innovative collaborations.
In her work at Wasserman, Lavielle also founded The Collective Think Tank, a global consortium of academic institutions and industry groups conducting research on women in sports, and The Collective Marketplace, the first online marketplace for athletes and artists to sell their own memorabilia and collectibles, thereby taking direct ownership of their legacies.
Despite the lawsuit, Lavielle says she loved her Colgate experience. She credits her French adviser, Jim Nichols, and professors Donald and Wanda Warren Berry, who taught religion and philosophy, for playing significant roles in her education.
“Little did I know when I was at Colgate that this would be a defining moment in my life,” she says. “We just wanted better ice time and equipment and respect. Now, working in this space every day has taught me that equity is built brick by brick, and, for that, I am so grateful for my teammates — and the many women who played before us — for paving the way.”
Lavielle is one of five women to be honored as Colgate Trailblazers. The recognition is part of the University’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX and five decades of women’s athletics at Colgate.