Northeastern University Athletics

The beginning of the Northeastern University women’s crew program can be attributed to a grey t-shirt with maroon crossed oars and the name Vesper on the front.
 
Sitting on the steps of what was Dodge Library, Janet Swanson was approached by two women who inquired if she would be willing to be the “advisor/coach” of hopefully the women’s crew “club”. These two women along with several others were interested in starting a club.
 
Janet had been a member of the Vesper Boat Club Swim team (of Philadelphia, Pa.) coached by Mary Kelly. In 1964 the Vesper men’s rowing club represented the United States at the Tokyo Olympics in the eight-man competition. The men won the gold medal for the U.S. in the event. This group of men became part of the great Vesper history. Their coach was the world-famous John (Jack) B. Kelly, Jr.
 
In the winter of 1965, Jack approached his wife Mary with the idea of cross training the women in the shells for the spring. Thus, in the spring of 1965, eight women took to a racing shell under the tutelage of the 1964 Olympic Men - Hugh Foley, Fargo Thompson, Boyce Budd and Jim Dietz, to name a few, along with Jack Kelly himself. These women and others who joined in over the next few years were the catalysts for the pioneering Philadelphia Girl’s Rowing Club out of the Vesper Boat House in 1968. Janet was part of the first boat of swimmers and rowed until off to college in 1969. Janet thought rowing was behind her now. The t-shirt changed all this as well as the women’s crew program at Northeastern University.
 
Unsure whether being a graduate teaching assistant in Boston Bouve’s Recreation Education Department while acquiring her MS degree qualified her to be the “advisor/coach.” Once finally determined that it did, a meeting was held with Dr. Carl Christensen, Chairman of the Physical Education Department under which all women’s varsity sports were administered.  This was the first “club” for women and needed this approval and administrative set up. Before this would happen, the women were to collect 200 signatures on a petition by the NU women that they would support such an action to develop this club. More than 400 were obtained and thus the “Club” was approved by Dr. Christensen and the process moved forward.
 
The next step was to meet with Professor Joseph Zabilski, the Associate A.D. to gain approval from him for use of the boathouse and it’s equipment for the spring of 1976. This meeting took place on April 30, 1976.
 
As a Club both undergraduates and graduate students could compete.  Practices began, being held Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday late afternoons and evenings in the tanks. There were 35 - 40 women who met on a regular basis. For the most part, these women had no experience in rowing at all.
 
The instruction was to get them use to being in a boat, proper usage of  oars, and how to get eight women doing the same thing at the same time. Over the summer, the women were given workouts to do on their own in hopes that in the fall of 1976 they would be able to move onto the “barge”. for further learning. This happened, but the women had no shell available to them for the next step. 
 
No money was allotted for such. The men’s program was working out of the Riverside Boat House. Ernie Arlett the head men’s coach, stated that he did not wish to see the women’s program cut into the strong men’s program and weaken it.  He did wish the women well and good luck.
 
Ernie was to become a quietly great supporter of the women’s program and was helpful in many behind the scenes. Jack Kelly was contacted by Janet and he arranged for a shell to be shipped to Boston for the team. Oars were obtained and the women were now set to begin practice and racing under the red and black colors of Northeastern.
 
November 1976 saw the women in their first race on the Charles River against Boston University and M.I.T. It was a difficult morning with snow covering the docks. Unfortunately on bringing the BU shell out of the boathouse one of their women fell and broke her leg. An extra NU woman was put into the BU boat as they only had eight women and they wanted to race. It was important that this race take place as the clubs from each of these schools were to be evaluated for movement to varsity status. It was to prove that they could compete and were ready to race. 
 
After a successful competition a meeting was held with Dean John Curry, Bernard Solomon and Joseph Zabilski to determine this status. All agreed that the club should move to varsity status but passed on this recommendation on for further consideration by the new athletic director.  This becoming Joseph Zabilski. The women’s crew program was immediately given varsity status and so the program was now officially recognized as such.
 
Janet spent the summer being taught by Frank Barrett at his summer camp the fundamentals that the women would need to move the program forward.  The women quickly moved past this and it became apparent that the women needed a coach with more experience. Steve Leonard was hired as the new coach. Janet then moved on to coach the newly established Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving program.   
 
Coaches that followed were: 
Beth Emery
Debbie Ayers DeAngelis and Mayrene Earl
Carrie Graves
Joe Wilhelm