Naming the 50 greatest women athletes at UK a great idea but is really going to be a hard job with so many great choices

The "UK Athletics Title IX at 50" celebration kicked off with female athletes from 15 sports on the Rupp Arena court Wednesday. (Vicky Graff Photo)

The “UK Athletics Title IX at 50” celebration started Wednesday night at halftime of the Kentucky-Vanderbilt men’s basketball team when all 12 women’s sports teams — plus the coed rifle team—  at UK along with the dance and cheerleading squads celebrated on the Rupp Arena court.

The campaign will honor the past, present and future of women in UK Athletics.  

But here is the part I really like — the year-long celebration will include the naming of Kentucky’s 50 greatest women student-athletes from the last half-century in no particular order.  The elite 50 will be elected by a panel of UK administrators and UK Athletics Hall of Fame members (only athletes who have used all their collegiate eligibility will be eligible for selection).

I think about former UK basketball players like Valerie Still, Leslie Nichols, Victoria Dunlap, and Stacy Reed. I think about former all-time great gymnast Jenny Hansen.

Go back to Nancy Napolski Johnson, rifle All-American and Olympic gold-medal winner for the United States. She captured the individual national championship in air rifle in 1994. I remember golfer Nancy Scranton, UK’s first all-SEC player in women’s golf and UK’s most successful LPGA player.   

Sarah Rumley was the first UK volleyball player to be named SEC freshman of the year and SEC player of the year. She was also an academic all-American. But don’t forget about recent stars Madison Lilley and Leah Edmond.

Swimmer Rachel Komisarz was an Olympic gold- and silver-medal winner in 2004 and NCAA All-American swimmer.  Soccer player Arin Gilliland Wright was the No. 8 pick in the 2014 National Women’s Soccer League draft and UK’s second soccer all-American.

Just think back to the recent Olympics where Sydney McLaughlin and Kendra Harrison won medals. Or recent softball stars Katie Reed and Abby Cheek.

Just think about the quality of athletes on campus now — Kayla Kowalk, Rhyne Howard, Mary Tucker, Alli Stumler, Jensen Castle, Abby Steiner, Riley Gaines.

It’s going to be quite a list of superstar female athletes and I just rattled off ones I thought of immediately and know I have just touched the surface of the deserving honorees.

A commemorative UK Athletics Title IX at 50 logo will appear throughout the year on departmental promotional materials, and in original broadcast, digital, and social media content to celebrate women’s sports and UK Athletics women’s sports teams’ tremendous success.