Local author to speak, hold book signing at Auburn restaurant

Tre Pazzi Trattoria, located at 928 Lincoln Way in Downtown Auburn, will present local author Karen S. Rudolph speaking about her newly released book, "Sidelined No Longer: The Untold Story of Women's College Sports," at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19. The event is open to the public and includes a tasting of pasta Bolognese accompanied by San Pellegrino. It will be the author's second appearance locally in celebration of Women's History Month. Sidelined No Longer tells the story of how women fought for access, recognition and respect in an era that rarely welcomed them. In the process, they laid the foundation for the energy and excitement seen today in women's sports. "It's been amazing to see how many women today have recognized themselves in the stories of Sidelined No Longer, whether it was from their own lack of opportunities to get off the bleachers and onto the playing field, or in their granddaughters, who now can receive the benefits from team and individual sports," noted Rudolph. Little is known about the women who championed the growth of women's college sports. Teams, players, coaching, budgets – everything was less for female athletes before a national law now known as Title IX, which passed in 1972 and called for women to receive equal educational opportunities. It quickly was applied to athletics and sports competition. At the story's center is Jean Cerra, hired in the 1976-77 school year as the University of Missouri's first women's athletic director. She joined 10 other women who sought to move governance of women's intercollegiate sports from an all-women's organization into the NCAA, which oversaw men's college sports. That change was criticized by the women's organization and seen as unpopular and controversial. Within a few years, the women's organization failed as the NCAA offered numerous women's championships. "The story parallels that of the amazing women portrayed in the feature movie Hidden Figures, women who never received the credit they deserved for getting astronauts to the moon and back," said Rudolph, whose career spanned 20 years in sports journalism and media, and 20 years teaching and coaching at the high school level. The author will answer questions following the presentation, with books available for sale. They also can be purchased on Amazon, and the e-commerce sites of Barnes & Noble, Target and WalMart. For more information, contact Tre Pazzi Trattoria, 530-823-2994.