In honor of our women’s issue, The Signal sat down with Georgia State’s Athletic Director Cheryl Levick to discuss the importance of women’s sports at Georgia State and what the future of women’s sports entails for the university.
Your are one of few female athletic directors in the country. How did you work your way up to your position today?
“My background and undergraduate degree is in education. I walked into this career knowing that I want to combine academics and athletics. I was really was a teacher and a coach—very traditional route. Right now, you probably don’t find that same route. It’s probably a business route, or a different undergraduate degree but then get a Masters in Athletic Administration. My undergraduate degree is in education and my master’s degree is in Athletic Administration.
“I did know that I loved being in education. I loved going to school every day. It’s great fun for me to be on a campus every day of my working life. But, I also have a very strong competitive spirit. So, to combine those two, academics and athletics, it’s a very perfect world for me.”
Have you ever faced any gender prejudice in your job?
“I’m not sure there was any prejudice, but it was certainly lonely in the room. Invariably, I was one of few, if not the only female in the room, and I’d like to see that change from a coaching standpoint to an athletic administration.
“I find that the majority of the male athletic administrators are fabulous. They’re very supportive. Most of my mentors were males because there wasn’t any females that were there for mentoring. So, I think it’s a great field for women, but very few women are in it still. It’s still a little frustrating because I’d like to see that change.”
“I make a personal committment every year to mentor women and help them along with their careers or athletes here that are interested in athletic administration, how to get in and what to do that we have internships offered or some kind of a volunteer situattion so they can learn and grow. So, we need to keep strong women in this field. It’s a great field. Athletics, it generates incredible leadership qualities, and I’d like to see more women get involved and stay involved, and that’s two different issues.”
Women’s sports are growing at Geogia State, is it just about fulfilling Title IX reequirements or is it more than that?
“Georgia State and I are personally committed to gender equity, and that means that not only do we have lots of sporting opportunites for women, but we also treat them the same in terms of the quality and service of what we provide them.
“If I’m going to have great equipment for the men, I’m going to have great equipment for the women. If I’m going to have a great wieght room for the men, I’m going to have a great wieght room for the women or share the same one. So, there’s a very strong commitment on this campus, and for me personally, to make sure that gender equity is really imporant. That our men and women value each other, and that they see each other in that role as equals here.”
What would you like to see in the future for women’s sports for Georgia State?
We need to add another women’s sport, so we know that in terms of making sure we have the right numbers of female athletes to represent our undergraduate population, it’s looking like it’s women’s swimming and diving right now, but we’re waiting for some final numbers before we can announce that.
We did an anaylsis of our female undergraduate population. It was a survey that went out looking at what sports they would be interested in, what sports they’d actually participate in, and then we also did a review of the confferences and the regional participatin in different sports. And, it came up to the top, swimming and diving. Interest here on campus, regional interest and, also, conference interest. So, it is the right next sport.
What do you see being collegiate female athletes’ apiratations after college knowing some sports do not have the same professional opportunties compared to men’s sports such as the WNBA and NBA not being equal?
The WNBA is not inferior to the NBA. It is a different game. I know fans that are very passionate about the WNBA and like it better than the NBA becasue they like to be able to watch the style of play that’s different.
Now having said that, we know the salaries are not the same, the media exposure is not the same.
We are very passionate and very focused…that passion, and I just met with the folks from the [Atlanta] Dream the other day, that’s what their marketing team is supposed to do. How are do you reach that audiance that loves women’s basketball and get them involved and get them hooked.
It’s just like we get our fans hooked here with our men’s basketball team and our football program. We got to get them in the door, they’ve got to have a great experience, and then eventually, you gotta win. And, if you can get those three things going, they’ll comback.
How do you try and level the playing field for some sports like tennis that has a bigger opportutnity to play at a professional level than softball, for example?
I’m not sure if I have personally ever tried to level that playing field. It’s my job to make sure I maximize the opportunties for women to go [professional], and then the market and the other things have to come into play.
I have to make sure that opportunity is there at a high school leve or a college level. That’s where I think the most significant I can talk to you about, and that’s my commitment and that’s where we have to make sure we have those oporuntities here. It has to be fair, it has to be equitable, that we do give them the same opportunity.
In an edicational setting, which we are, it is my job to make sure that I maximize that opportunity for every one of our student athletes to have the best athletic career they can have while they’re also getting their degree. Then, past that, the doors have got to open that we have to look at what’s next that’s out there.
I know my job, and what I do every day, and what we do on a collegiate level is to make sure that I have prepared them and given them the maximum opportutnity here so if those doors open and when they open, they’re ready to role.
Every single one of them will have a degree on their shoulders too. So they’ll have the business degree to start that league, to run that business. They’re bright, smart women. Our female athletes are always smart and always graduate.
I’m not worried about that part. My job is to make sure they have the quality experience here and graduate with a great degree, and I push them out the door being leaders.
*Parts of this interview was edited for brevity.
*Read part two of The Signal’s interview with Levick next week where we ask about the previous basketball season, football expectations, the Master Plan and Panthersville.
