ALLENE STOVALL - INDUCTEE #106
hall of fame fast fact:
Did you know that an Allene Stovall WT women's basketball team originated the nickname, Lady Buffs? "A sportswriter came to our game and asked what our nickname was," Stovall said. "So at halftime we met and I told the girls we need a name. We decided on the Lady Buffs. If not, we might have been the Buffettes the rest of our lives."
Allene Stovall
Allene Stovall was the driving force behind the creation of women’s athletic teams at WT. Under her leadership, the programs grew to national prominence years later as West Texas State became West Texas A&M University.
As an instructor in WT’s sports and exercise department, Stovall organized the first women’s basketball and volleyball teams in 1963 and 1964. She coached WTSU women’s basketball, volleyball, rifle, and bowling teams; she helped start the school’s badminton and softball teams. Eventually, 10 women’s teams were established. All the coaches were volunteers.
In the early years, WT joined the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Stovall served on the AIAW’s Ethics and Eligibility Committee. Finally in the early 1980s, the NCAA recognized some women’s sports and made provisions to add more.
Stovall served as the women’s athletic director until 1981 and taught at WT for 41 years, retiring as an assistant professor in 2001. In 1980, Stovall received WT’s Faculty Excellence Award. She was inducted into WTAMU’s Hall of Champions in 1997.
