Interview with Ben Paxton - OH 215

Interviewee

• Ben Paxton

Interviewer

Jenna Kasmarik

Files

Streaming Media

Abstract

This interview was conducted by Jenna Kasmarik with Ben Paxton, Head Cross-Country and Track and Field Coach at Winthrop University, on March 25, 2015, for Kasmarik’s capstone project on Title IX at Winthrop University. Paxton discusses his arrival at Winthrop in 1993 and his experiences developing the university’s track and field program. At the time, Winthrop had an established cross-country program but no track facility, and Paxton describes the challenges of recruiting athletes, training on grass fields, borrowing equipment from other departments, and building the program from a small group of existing athletes. He discusses recruiting athletes from South Carolina and surrounding states, the support he received from other Winthrop athletic programs, and the early success of the men’s and women’s cross-country and track and field teams.

Paxton reflects on his 22 years at Winthrop and discusses his reasons for remaining at the university. He describes Winthrop’s emphasis on academics and the balance between academic and athletic priorities. The interview also focuses on Title IX and its effects on collegiate athletics. Paxton discusses the expansion of athletic opportunities for women and compares his experiences as a college athlete during the transition from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He discusses the addition of women’s soccer and lacrosse at Winthrop and his belief that Title IX contributed to the expansion of women’s athletics and the composition of Winthrop’s athletic programs.

Paxton also discusses aspects of Title IX that he would change, including the distribution of track and field scholarships between men’s and women’s programs. He describes the development of combined men’s and women’s track and field programs and reflects on the advantages and disadvantages of having a single head coach for both programs. He discusses the opportunities Title IX has provided to women athletes and contrasts those opportunities with the experiences of women athletes before the expansion of collegiate women’s athletics. The interview concludes with Paxton’s reflections on the effects of Title IX on college sports and the financial and administrative considerations involved in adding or maintaining athletic programs.

Publication Date

3-25-2015

Unique Identifier

OH 215

Format

Cassette; MP3; WAV;

Length

00:10:58

Restrictions

Open under the rules and regulations of the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University

Series

Faculty and Staff

Disciplines

Oral History

Keywords

Track, Title IX, athletics, sports, football, swimming, recruitment

Recommended Citation

Paxton, Ben, "Interview with Ben Paxton - OH 215" (2015). Winthrop University Oral History Program. OH 215.
https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/266