Spurred by Nixon-era legislation known as Title IX, TCU began welcoming female athletes in 1972.

Fifty-one years later, Horned Frogs compete at the highest level in 13 women’s sports, including triathlon, which was introduced in 2023.

“Adding triathlon is just another way TCU is demonstrating its commitment to women athletes,” said Kimberly Johnson, senior associate athletics director and senior woman administrator. “That commitment begins at the top.”

Chancellor Victor J. Boschini, Jr., has long appreciated the leadership skills that female athletes cultivate on the playing courts and fields. Around 230 women compete each year at the varsity level for TCU.

“Those are the kinds of skills that will stay with them long after they stop playing soccer or basketball,” he said. “We also have amazing role models for our women athletes in our women coaches and women athletics staff members.”

One of those coaches is Angie Larkin, who begins her 30th season as TCU’s women’s golf coach in August 2023. In 1978, golf became the fourth women’s sport at TCU, a year after women’s basketball became a varsity sport and six years after tennis and rifled debuted.

Women’s golf became a varsity sport at TCU in 1978. Angie Larkin was named coach 15 years later and is entering her 30th season. Courtesy of TCU Athletics

“We’ve built a well-respected program where recruits all around the country know that TCU supports athletics and women’s athletics,” Larkin said. “If I can get a recruit to TCU for a visit, the university sells itself.”

As TCU’s rifle coach since 2004, Karen Monez has presided over national championship teams in 2010, 2012 and 2019 and the national champions in the air rifle discipline in 2021 and 2022. The 2010 team was the first national champion in NCAA rifle history with only women on its roster.

The first female All-American at TCU was on the rifle team. Sue Ann Sandusky ’74 earned the honor in 1972, 1973 and 1974. She was the air rifle national champion twice and after leaving TCU became a two-time gold medalist at world shooting championships.

“At one time, no one even knew there was a women’s rifle team at TCU,” Monez said. “Now we are considered one of the top programs in the nation with first-class facilities.”

Monez credits strength and conditioning along with nutritional support for helping her team achieve its lofty goals. Each year, her team aspires to finish first or second in the nation.

“It’s a collaboration of our administrators and athletic coaches and staff as well as our donors and alumni and the athletes themselves that makes TCU a place that elevates women in sport.”
Kimberly Johnson, senior associate athletics director

Jackie Coleman-Eubanks ’94 (MA ’99), a track star who went by the nickname Shauntee, described the amount of money TCU spent on rehabilitation for her injuries as just one measure of support during her four years on the team. Today, the Dallas-based entrepreneur owns Enterprise Staffing Agency, the largest woman- and Black-owned staffing agency in the U.S.

“My brother, who played football at the University of Texas, and I talk about all the ways being an athlete has helped us succeed,” Coleman-Eubanks said. “Athletes know how to overcome adversity. We have a level of confidence we might not otherwise have. We know how to work seven days a week. And we don’t quit.”

During a dinner in September 2022 with her former coach, Bubba Thornton ’69, Coleman-Eubanks expressed her gratitude to him for all his assistance during her undergraduate years. “I told him he couldn’t know the impact he had on my life,” she said.

Track and field events were added in 1983, with varsity soccer following three years later. Yazmeen Ryan ’21 credits head coach Eric Bell and assistant coach Ryan Higginbotham with helping her become a professional soccer player.

The Portland Thorns FC in Oregon drafted her out of college, and she now plays for NJ/NY Gotham FC. She is the second player from TCU’s program to go pro, following in the fast-moving footsteps of Ryan Williams ’17, who plays for the North Carolina Courage.

“We were always known for having the best fans, and the amount of attention we received on campus was really encouraging,” said Ryan, a midfielder on the TCU team that made the NCAA Elite Eight in 2021.

Johnson said she continues to applaud the university’s unwavering commitment to women athletes, the vast majority of whom compete in non-revenue-generating sports like swimming and diving, cross country, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball and equestrian.

“It’s a collaboration of our administrators and athletic coaches and staff as well as our donors and alumni and the athletes themselves that makes TCU a place that elevates women in sport.”