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This week, University of Hawai'i athletic teams will be holding a moment of silence during their games. From the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium to the Stan Sheriff Center, players, coaches and fans will remember the life of a pioneer who left a legacy that will live on for many years.
Dr. Donnis Thompson, a former women's athletic director at UH, passed away Monday night at Le'ahi Hospital of kidney failure. She was 75 years old.
Originally from Chicago, Thompson came to Hawai'i in 1961 as the first women's track and field coach after graduating from George Williams College.
She coached for three years and later became the cornerstone for the growth of women's intercollegiate athletics through her involvement with the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, formerly known as Title IX, which was enacted on June 23, 1972; Donnis motivated Mink to write the legislation.
"She definitely opened the door, led the way and did a lot for the University of Hawai'i women's athletics," said current Rainbow Wahine track and field head coach Carmyn James.
The establishment of Title IX promised gender equality in collegiate athletics. It stated that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination, under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
Thompson's passing reminded James that she is carrying on the tradition that Thompson started.
"I had the privilege of meeting her shortly after I was hired here (in 2001)," James said. "I was honored to do so."
When James found out that Thompson was in the hospital prior to Christmas, she wanted to make sure that her players had a chance to meet her.
James said she canceled practice on a rainy day but told her team to show up anyway. She took about half of them to the hospital to visit Thompson.
"I felt it was really important that people on our team (should meet her). They just knew of her as a name and they didn't really have that personal connection. I wanted them to meet this legend and to appreciate all she had done as a pioneer for women's athletics, specifically our sport."
Thompson left after three years as the women's track and field coach and received her doctorate of education at the University of Northern Colorado. She returned to UH and served as the women's athletic director from 1972 to 1981, when she became the state of Hawai'i's first female superintendent of education.
During her nine years as women's athletic director, Thompson helped increase the number of women's sports from two to eight and scholarships for women's sports from a handful to 30.
She led a committee in 1976 to bring women's volleyball power UCLA to Hawai'i. The 'Bows won the sold-out match with 7,813 paying fans at the Blaisdell Arena. The next year she brought the AIAW national golf tournament to the Islands.
Thompson's vision for gender equity in college athletics and excellence can be seen in the success of Hawai'i's teams.
UH currently has 11 NCAA-sanctioned women's teams competing for conference championships and postseason appearances.
Women's volleyball head coach Dave Shoji, who ranks second nationally in career wins, was hired during Thompson's tenure as athletic director. The program holds three NCAA championships and is regularly ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
"Donnis Thompson's legacy will live on as long as intercollegiate athletics for women is played," Shoji said. "If not for her and her push for gender equity, women athletes on this campus would not be at the level they are."
Softball head coach Bob Coolen, who has guided his team to eight postseason appearances, said he never knew Thompson personally, but he has "heard of her accomplishments as (his) years unfolded in the athletic department and (his program has) reaped the benefits of her foresight for women's athletics."
To date, Rainbow Wahine basketball, golf, sailing, soccer, swimming and diving, track and field and water polo have all made NCAA postseason appearances. The sailing team has two national championships (although not sanctioned by the NCAA); the swimming and diving team holds two individual titles; and the women's track and field team has one individual title.
Although she was visibly ill when the track and field team visited her, Thompson's charisma and passion for the athletes remained strong, according to James.
James described Thompson's attitude as "tickled-pink" and said they were able to exchange laughs.
"She said, 'Were you in the neighborhood?' And I said, 'No, we came to see you!'" James giggled at the memory. "She just was so happy and had questions for all the girls ... what they did and how well they did it. ... She was so pleased that the team came to see her.
"When we got the news (Monday) night that she passed away, it was sad, but at the same time, for those team members that got to have that opportunity to see her, it means so much more that they actually got to meet this wonderful woman and appreciate in person all that she's done for us and the future of women's athletics."
Thompson was inducted into the Sports Circle of Honor in 1988 and the Hawai'i Sports Hall of Honor in 2007. In October 2007, the university unveiled a sculpture of her commissioned for Stan Sheriff Center.
James stressed that it is important for her memory to live on, especially among female college athletes.
"Some (female) student-athletes now take (playing collegiate sports) for granted and don't appreciate the change that happened in the last 35 years. ... (Not too) long ago, these opportunities didn't exist," she said.
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