Life Like Linda
Spend any time around Sun Devil Athletics and you’ll likely hear a few names on at least a semi-regular basis. Frank Kush is a big one, Jim Brock another, but arguably neither of them have made such a substantive impact as Linda Vollstedt.
One of her protégées, Tana Thomas, was especially impacted by her time spent under Coach Vollstedt, propelling her to a career of coaching, a career that wouldn’t have been possible without Title IX at ASU and one of the women who has become synonymous with it.
“Playing golf for Coach Linda Vollstedt instilled a lifetime love of coaching for me,” Thomas said. “She showed me how pushing athletes to achieve their best was a way I wanted to touch the lives of future students.”
Thomas spent 4 years on the Sun Devil Women’s Golf team from 1988-92. She was teammates with current Women’s Golf Head Coach Missy Farr-Kaye on the 1990 National Championship team.
After spending her time as a student-athlete under one of the nation’s most legendary golf coaches, she immediately started a women’s golf program at Northern Arizona where she led the Lumberjacks to Big Sky titles in 1996-97 and got the program ranked as high as 30th with an NCAA Regional appearance in just its third season.
“I am proud of the legacy I created in my five years of starting the Women's golf team at NAU,” Thomas added. “I know the program would not have been started without Title IX, and I would not have been given my first opportunity to Coach. In 2007 my team was inducted into the NAU hall of fame for their efforts in the 1997-1998 season. It was by far my professional highlight.”
Since then, Thomas has spent 20+ years instructing and coaching golf at all levels, including a 12-year stint at D-III Immaculata University where she saw the true power of Title IX legislation as a great equalizer.
“Since I moved to the East Coast, I started one additional golf program at Immaculata University,” Thomas said. “One interesting thing to note is, Title IX does not just give women an opportunity to play, it requires EQUITY for all. The second program I started was a MEN'S golf program at a formerly all-female college. When they went co-ed, they were also required to meet the equal standards set out by Title IX. Both my first two jobs were offered in an effort to comply. What great irony!”
Since her days admiring her famous head coach, to becoming a hall-of-famer and trailblazer in her own right, Tana Thomas is yet another example of how Title IX has created opportunities for women to make their mark on the world of sports and specifically collegiate athletics.
“I love every minute of the experience of D-III as the mission is to allow athletes to play for the love of the game,” Thomas concluded. “Which is also why I coach! All instilled in my college years by Coach Vollstedt at ASU!”
