Colleagues, friends gather to honor Dr. Christine Grant

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - On Saturday, friends and family of Dr. Christine Grant paid tribute to an Iowa Hawkeye women’s athletic pioneer.

Dr. Christine Grant passed away in late December at the age of 85. She is remembered for pushing for equal rights when it came to women playing sports.

“You’ll be with us like a handprint on our hearts,” Gayle Blevins, former Iowa softball Coach, said. “We know we’ve been changed for the better because of you.”

Over 100 former coaches and athletes paid tribute to the legacy of Grant, the first women’s athletics director and a voice for gender equity. Under her leadership, the school won 12 NCAA Championships and 27 Big Ten Titles in women’s sports, but she was best known for pushing for women’s rights in sports and implementing Title IX.

“Facilities are one thing, but what really helped our program was implementing athletic scholarships,” Judith Davidson, a former field hockey coach, said. “That enabled us to bring outstanding young women to Iowa and made the program what it is. Christine’s leadership provided that access.”

The work she put in for women over the last five decades will continue to make sure these athletes were afforded the same opportunities.

“Dr. Grant’s legacy, her work, I stand before you today as a product of her legacy, and her work,” Liz Ullman, a former Iowa Women’s Sports Information Director, said.

Watch a replay of the service here:

More information on Dr. Grant’s life is available here.

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