Hall of Fame
An early pioneer for women and girls in sport, Marilyn McNeil (BPE ‘68) recently ended a 53-year career in collegiate athletics that started at UCalgary.
A standout athlete at an early age, McNeil says sports were always in her DNA. She was a three-sport athlete for UCalgary as the university was gaining its autonomy and was a key member of the 1966 conference champion women's basketball team that also was recognized in the Dinos Hall of Fame. In 1968, she won the Margaret Southern Award for contributions in women's athletics just a few weeks prior to graduating.
After starting her coaching career immediately after graduation, she came back to her alma mater to coach the Dinos women's basketball team for four seasons (1975-79), taking a team that had gone 3-17 prior to her arrival and leading them to a 16-4 finish her first season. McNeil was named the top coach in the conference twice during her return to campus and brought home the conference banner in 1979, being named the national coach of the year that same season.
After her time in Calgary, she went on to spearhead incredible accomplishments in collegiate athletics, including serving as the director of athletics at Monmouth University – an NCAA Division I program in New Jersey. During her tenure there, the Hawks won 119 regular-season conference championships. Additionally, she was a tireless advocate for women and Title IX, adding seven women's sports at Monmouth under her leadership.
