Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conference (KWIC) Records

In 1967 a committee was appointed by the chair of the Division of Girls and Women's Sports within the Kentucky Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation to study the expanding interest in women's intercollegiate athletics. This committee met for the first time on December 2, 1967, with the purposes to develop state guidelines and policies for the development of intercollegiate programs for college women. Representatives from nine institutions attended this first meeting. In 1970 the first formal operating code was passed and the committee's name was changed to the KWIC (Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Conference). The first state tournament was held in 1971, and the KWIC participated in the first AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) regional tournament and national tournaments in 1972. Over the course of the KWIC's history, many Kentucky colleges and universities have at one time been members, with the largest membership enrollments coming in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1981, however, the NCAA established championships for women's Division I sports, and there was no longer a need for Division I Kentucky schools to participate in the KWIC state tournaments. NCAA participation began the slow but inevitable erosion of the KWIC as an athletic conference. In 1996 the KWIC changed its name to the Kentucky Women's Intercollegiate Consortium, and abandoned the state tournaments it had sponsored since its inception. KWIC's mission became 1) the promotion of women's intercollegiate athletics in Kentucky, and 2) providing opportunities for professional development. KWIC continues to adhere to this mission today.

Note written by Richard Garland