In 1981, governance agreed to a plan to incorporate women’s athletic programs and services into the NCAA structure on January 13th. This decision opened the floodgates to an unprecedented level of athletic and academic opportunity for women’s athletes. Today, the NCAA supports 45 women’s championships and 3 coed championships across 21 sports, giving over 225,000 female athletes the opportunity to compete each year for national championships. Over a span of two years, 13 women’s sports held their inaugural NCAA championship events in November 1981. Each season saw an increase in the number of championship events, culminating in the addition of indoor track & field to Division I in March 1983. It’s been 40 years since those inaugural championships took place. Credit: Justin Whitaker, NCAA Media Center #myNILpay #NILforALL #history #collegesports #womensathletics