A look at Burt’s legacy at Union
Mary Ellen Burt is retiring as Union College’s golf coach after this season, two years after finishing her stellar career as the school’s basketball coach with 344 wins.
After 28 years in the school’s athletic department, she is the winningest coach in a single sport in the college’s history.
Union videographer Kyle Mccue captures the impact of Burt’s tenure in a video titled “Mary Ellen Burt: A Caretaker of Women’s Sport” available to watch on the school’s Youtube channel. One of the most compelling moments of the video is when Burt discusses the impact of Title IX on women’s athletics nationwide and at Union College.
“We lowered the ladders so others can climb,” Burt quotes television personality and sportscaster Robin Roberts, who had made a visit to the school. Burt loved that quote. It’s easy to see why.
She was recruited out of Webster Thomas High School in Rochester to attend the University of Southern California on a full scholarship to play women’s college basketball. That was in 1978, six years after Title IX was signed into law. It took several years for Title IX to begin to have an impact, and the availability of scholarships was the most obvious initial benefit. Burt’s life would be forever changed by her decision to play in Los Angeles.
She was a player on one of the best women’s basketball teams in the country, playing for future Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Linda Sharp, who would soon lead the Women of Troy to two NCAA championships and three Final Four appearances.
Burt was a hard-nosed guard tagged with defending some of the best players in the country, including All-america and Wade Trophy winner Nancy Lieberman of Old Dominion University. Burt’s forte was taking charges.
The Women of Troy made their first appearance in the
▪ Saratoga Springs’ Dolly Cairns and Rhode Island defeated Boston University to record the first WNIT victory in program history, beating the Terriers 46-40 Friday night.
▪ Let’s talk about Claudio Reyna and female referees. https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2023/03/15/claudio-reyna-female-referees-u-s-soccerreport/
▪ Dawn Staley visits losing team locker room after March Madness defeat. https://justwomenssports.com/reads/dawn-staley-praises-losing-team-ncaatournament/
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Final Four in the 1981 AIAW Tournament. Following the successful 1982 season, when USC reached the Elite Eight of the first NCAA Tournament, the Trojans went on to win NCAA national championships in 1983 and 1984.
As a senior, Burt played with fabulous freshmen: Cynthia Cooper, two-time WNBA MVP, Pamela Mcgee, 1984 Olympian and All-american, and her twin, Paula Mcgee, a 1982 and 1983 All-american.
So you can say Burt and her
teammates built the ladder for Cheryl Miller’s iconic Southern Cal teams, which are featured in an HBO documentary “Women
of Troy.” The terrific HBO video which premiered on March 10, 2020, is available to watch on HBO Max, a perfect documentary to watch on off days of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Burt still keeps in touch with Sharp, her coach at USC.
“You have to have role models,” Burt told me back in 2017 when I wrote about her after she notched her 300th win. “Back then, women mostly coached women; there weren’t a lot of male head coaches. I was fortunate.”
Even more fortunate are the Union College alumni, women who played basketball or golfed under Burt, who probably know very little about her basketball legacy but will always remember the word “arete.”
“Arete simply means to be the best that you can be in whatever you are doing,” Burt said. It was her mantra at Union.
Be your best on the court and off the court. Be your best on the course and off the course. Be your best in your studies. Be your best doing community service. Be the best daughter you can be.
A pioneer “Woman of Troy” who became a “Woman of Schenectady” will now spend many of her days enjoying the game of golf as a single-digit handicapper. She’s earned it.