Hancock, Slomin Honored with Women’s Varsity O Awards – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | General
Two former Buckeyes were honored by the Varsity O Women’s Alumnae Society Friday evening in the Ohio Union during the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame ceremonies. Sandy Slomin was the recipient of the Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award, while Dru Ann Hancock was presented with the Phyllis Bailey Career Achievement Award.
Read on for more on the awards and their recipients. Click above for a photo gallery when the duo were honored prior to the Ohio State football team’s win over Eastern Michigan.
Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award
The Barbie Tootle Buckeye Spirit Award was created by the Varsity O Women’s Alumnae to recognize those individuals who have demonstrated unconditional loyalty and support of women’s athletics at The Ohio State University. The goal is to thank those individuals that personify the unique character which sets them apart as a women’s sports advocate and to bring to light the consistent support for women’s athletics that our award winners demonstrate. Once again this year, the honor was bestowed upon a woman who embodies the enthusiasm of a true Buckeye.
Sandy Slomin was recognized with this great honor Friday night. Sandy personifies the true spirit of a loyal Buckeye fan. As a 1971 graduate of the College of Education, she is an alumna with tremendous gratitude and vision for the advancement of women and children at The Ohio State University. Sandy’s support of the Critical Difference for Women program has helped women seek degrees at the university that have interrupted their education due to unforeseen obstacles. She has assisted researchers conducting scholarly work on women’s issues, and has provided professional development opportunities for women on campus. Sandy has also supported programming and research at Ohio State that decreases bullying in schools and assists in the education of children with learning disabilities.
Sandy’s commitment to women’s athletics included a personal contribution to the construction of the softball stadium, which remains the largest gift an individual has ever given to athletics in support of an all-female facility. When asked why she chose to support the construction of the softball stadium Sandy recalls, “Growing up in New York City there were only a few baseball fields for kids to play on. My family was lucky enough to have lived close to one of those fields. The boys were the only ones that got to play on it. I wanted to play, but many of the girls and I in the neighborhood would have to watch from across the street. I contributed the softball stadium because I love Ohio State and I wanted the women to have a facility as good as the boys.”
Phyllis J. Bailey Career Achievement Award
In honor of her career-long contributions to women’s athletics, Dru Ann Hancock was presented with the fourth Phyllis Bailey Career Achievement Award by the Women’s Varsity O Alumnae Society.
This award pays tribute and extends recognition to those individuals who, through their careers, have contributed to the honor and fame of The Ohio State University through the field of athletics by continuing to demonstrate, in their daily lives, the values learned in intercollegiate athletics and have continued the advancement of women’s athletics.
Dru’s commitment to OSU is demonstrated throughout her academic and athletic career. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in Speech Communication and continued at Ohio State, obtaining her master’s degree in Journalism. Dru was a four-year letterwinner with the Ohio State Women’s basketball team and two-year letter winner in tennis. She also captured a Big Ten Doubles Title.
Dru has dedicated her career to the advancement of women’s athletics on a national scale. Following her career at OSU, Dru served two stints as an assistant Sports Information Director at Minnesota and Missouri (also serving three years as the women’s tennis coach at Missouri) before she was named the Women’s Athletic Director at Tennessee.
While at Tennessee, Dru was the Primary Administrator for the 1990 Women’s Final Four. In June 1992, she joined the University Central Administration as Acting Associate Dean of Students. She remains active in various professional organizations, including National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators (NACWAA) and she has assisted the U.S. Olympic Committee in various national and international athletic competitions.
Dru is an original member of the Big 12 Conference staff and was elevated to her current position of Senior Associate Commissioner in February 2008. Her responsibilities include oversight of 13 league championships as well as the departments of Academics, Governance & Compliance. She is the Primary Administrator for Women’s Basketball Operations and Administration while also serving as liaison to Senior Women Administrators. Dru also serves as the league’s liaison in its partnership with Special Olympics. She was recently named to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee with a five-year appointment which began on September 1, 2010.
