Women forge their own path in UC's soccer program

It was put together as a club sport in 1978 by two friends and UC students, Mary Meyer and Kim Vorbroker.

Vorbroker and Meyer met one day at UC’s Nippert Stadium in 1977. While kicking a soccer ball by herself, Meyer was approached by Vorbroker. The two began passing the ball back and forth to each other. At one point, Vorbroker asked Meyer if she would be interested in starting a women’s soccer team at UC. Meyer said she was all in on the idea.

Now determined, the pair placed an ad in the school newsletter, recruiting players.

Five years before their meeting, the Department of Education had passed the education amendments of 1972, which involved Title IX. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. It helped spur a surge in women’s sports at the collegiate level and helped open the door for women who wanted to play college sports on scholarship.

Vorbroker, a Purdue transfer, switched her major from engineering to business — the same as Meyer. Together, the two began studying Title IX and putting together documentation for a team. 

In 1980, women’s soccer became a varsity sport at UC. Cathy McMahon, my mother, was a freshman when the women’s soccer club was formed in 1978. Vorbroker approached her at a party and asked her to join.

“I just remember being excited and saying to her, ‘Heck yeah! Let’s do it,’” said McMahon, whose high school didn’t have a girls soccer team. “I wasn’t really sure it was going to happen, but I was excited about the possibility. I just wanted to play because I loved the sport. I wanted to be part of the team and play a game I didn’t get to play in high school.”

Scheduling and transportation were left up to the players. McMahon remembers calling Miami of Ohio about scheduling a game.

“That was just how it worked back then,” McMahon said. “If we wanted to play, we had to reach out to other schools and ask them if they wanted to play us. Then we would pile into cars and take road trips to other schools.”

“The facilities were not conducive,” said Glenn, who coached until 2007. “UC was really tight. We just didn’t have fields. And if you think of what we have now, it’s just incredible.”

Colleen Beckman was a four-year starter and two-year captain for UC women’s soccer from 1982 to 1986 and played under Glenn. Beckman says that she and her teammates never cared about vying for practice time at UC facilities. They just loved the game.

“It was just fun,” Beckman said. “It was a comradery. It wasn’t a job. I mean, yes it was, but you played for the love of the sport. I wouldn’t trade the time frame of when I played.”

Though Beckman was recruited out of high school and received a scholarship from the university, she was still forced to work during the offseason to help cover her tuition. During the summer, Beckman worked two jobs, often 40 to 60 hours a week. In the winter and spring months — after the season was over — Beckman worked 12 to 20 hours a week. She focused on soccer in the fall.

While playing soccer and working when she could, Beckman was studying for a nursing degree. Balancing the responsibilities of work, school and soccer proved to be difficult and even caused her grades to dip.

One of the three prongs of Title IX is proportionality. It states that the number of female athletes to male athletes must be proportional to the student population. In 1992, universities across the country faced lawsuits alleging that the women’s programs were not being treated equally. UC took notice of the lawsuits and began offering better opportunities to women athletes.

But not immediately. In Jaime Eversole’s four-year career at UC from 1992 to 1995, she and her teammates did not get to eat in the same cafeteria as the football players did until her senior year. For her first two years, UC did not provide meals to women players in the preseason, resulting in some players losing weight. In her third preseason, the team ate its main meal at Larosa’s Pizza, formerly on Calhoun Street.

Another major landmark that helped spur the growth of the women’s soccer program was better funding. In 1999, the program became fully funded. According to Glenn, the results were noticeable after that. Facilities continued to improve, and equipment and clothing became more readily available. The food got better. Recruiting also improved, along with the team’s records. Also in the late 1990s, UC struck a deal with Nike that gave them uniforms and team gear, which was a massive step for the program, according to Glenn.

In 2005, UC joined the Big East Conference, which had schools like Marquette, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Louisville. The women’s soccer program and UC athletics, in general, continued to grow. The Richard E. Lindner Athletics Center was built, funding took another jump, and recruiting improved. Though she only saw two seasons during this time frame, Glenn believed this was another major step in the right direction.

The quality of life for athletes in today’s UC women’s soccer program continues to improve. UC now has modern housing and better funding. It has made significant improvements to its facilities. In addition, UC recently announced it is joining the Big 12 Conference starting in the 2023 academic year, and with that, revenue will skyrocket.

Chloe Spitler, who has just wrapped up her sophomore season with the UC women’s soccer team, spoke about some of the major differences between the program’s early days and today. One of the differences is how the team is treated on the road.

Spitler also talked about the many resources available to her and her teammates. Today’s Bearcats no longer have to worry about access to nutritional food as they once did. Athletes have access to campus dining halls, including one on the seventh floor of the Lindner Center. Also on the second floor of the Lindner Center is a so-called “fuel station,” where athletes can grab sports drinks, protein shakes and healthy snacks.

“You have to truly fuel your body for what is going to help you perform the best,” Spitler said. “I could never imagine eating McDonald’s before or after practice. I would probably throw up.”

Furthermore, student-athletes can engage with university-provided mental health resources. They can talk to trained therapists at any time just by setting up an appointment on an app. The athlete maintains anonymity.

Student-athletes have better housing. All freshmen of the women’s soccer program are required to live in the University Park Apartments on the south side of campus. The units have two full bathrooms, bedrooms, a full kitchen and a living area. After their freshman year, players typically move to the 65 West Apartments at the corner of West McMillan Street and Ohio Avenue.

Thanks to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, student-athletes can earn money using their name, image and likeness, also referred to as NIL. Many high-profile athletes, such as Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, are making millions because of this legislation. Athletes such as Spitler in less-popular sports aren’t receiving those kinds of deals, but Spitler did sign with a company called BSB Sports and will earn some money. With UC moving to the Big 12, she believes more opportunities will arise, and that NIL will prove to be valuable for all student-athletes.

Current UC women’s soccer head coach Neil Stafford is a big believer in the importance of legacy. He feels that Meridy Glenn and Mary Meyer should forever be etched into the cornerstone of UC women’s soccer. Stafford calls them “strong and incredible women.” He refers to Meyer as the godmother of the program.

The year 2020 marked the 40th anniversary of women’s soccer at UC as a varsity sport. It also marked the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Stafford used some of the pandemic downtime to have his players read Legacy, a book about the rugby team from New Zealand called the All Blacks and their historic dominance in the sport.

“Legacy for me is bridging the past, the present and the future together,” Stafford said. “But what’s important about legacy is the fabric of the women’s soccer program is just so much bigger than anybody or anything. There is no head coach, there’s no all American, there’s nobody bigger than the fabric of UC women’s soccer. That’s what this is all about.

“And the legacy that Mary, Meridy, Kim, your family… it’s almost like you’re planting seeds for trees that you’ll never see. When you have that mentality, then you’re always going to leave it in a better place than you found it. That’s always the responsibility of any coach and players and teams.”