THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 VOLUME 96 ■ ISSUE 24
LA VIDA
SPORTS
Austin Phillips shares thoughts on being elected for Tech’s centennial year.
Ruth Usoro, Jacoby Shelton and head coach Wes Kittley preview Indoor NCAA Championships.
Attending the gym is already an anxious activity, women should not have to worry about harassment while working out..
OPINIONS
ONLINE
INDEX
Syphilis cases have risen in Lubbock. Local health experts explain what is happening around the city.
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More than just a sign Lubbock road signs honor historical women By TANA THOMPSON L a Vida Editor Turn on Glenna Goodacre Blvd. Merge on to Marsha Sharp Freeway. Two of the streets around Texas Tech campus are named after impactful women, yet many students do not know the stories behind the names they are driving on. When Title IX went into effect, Tech started a women’s athletics program. Margaret Wilson was one of the members who started that and she hired Marsha Sharp in 1981 as an assistant coach. Sharp then served as the Tech women’s basketball head coach from 1982 to 2006, Lynn Whitfield, a Southwest Collections Archivist said. “She basically elevated the basketball program to national prominence. The Lady
I’ll say the Glenna Goodacre is certainly one of the most important American artists, and the city of Lubbock has every right to be extremely proud of her roots in this city and in West Texas,” SEAN CUNNINGHAM HISTORY PROFESSOR
Raiders won the NCAA championship in 1993,” Whitfield said. “It was a huge deal for Texas Tech. I mean, the news coverage
alone, you know, was national, and so most people know her because of her success in athletics. But what they probably don’t know as much about her was that she was a very good mentor to her students.” Glenna Goodacre did not attend Tech, yet she left her artful impact on the campus. “There are many sculpture pieces around campus that are attributed to her. So she is one of the best well-known Texas sculptors,” Whitfield said. “Of course, she’s also known as a New Mexico sculptor because that’s where she eventually moved and set up her studio. She’s primarily known for sculptures of people, particularly women, as some of her female sculptures are very well known.” After reaching out to many Lubbock organizations like City of Lubbock, it is unknown how these streets received their names, but Sean Cunningham, chair of the department of history, said changing the names of these streets was to represent Sharp’s and Goodacre’s accomplishments. “I’ll say the Glenna Goodacre is certainly one of the most important American artists, and the city of Lubbock has every right to be extremely proud of her roots in this city and in West Texas,” Cunningham said. “ Marsha Sharp is certainly one of the most important people not simply women, but people to ever work at Texas Tech University and to shape sports for women in West Texas, as well as educational opportunities for women and many others across this region.” Laura Ray, the manager for communications and marketing at the Museum of
Texas Tech, said these women are very
well known in the area. “ S h a r p brought Texas Tech women’s basketball to championship level, which is something that has rarely been done at Texas Tech. And then it’s neat that our current basketball coach was a student of Marsha Sharp’s at that time, which is nice,” Ray said. “Then Glenna Goodacre is a very prominent artist … She has several artworks around town and on campus and then we even have several of her pieces here at the museum as well.” March is Women’s History Month, and students on Tech’s campus are surrounded by history that impactful women made, including having streets named after them. Sharp was born in Tulia, and attended Wayland Baptist University. After she graduated, she became an assistant coach at Wayland Baptist, and then went to West Texas State University to get her degree. Although Sharp did not attend Tech, she worked her way up to head coach. “While she was head coach, her female athletes had a very high graduation rate, I think something like 97 percent,” Whitfield said. “After she retired, she helped establish the Marsha Sharp Center for student athletes, which is where you know, students can go to get special tutoring and other kinds of help with academics. So she contributed quite a bit of money to help founding that here on campus.” Sharp also founded the Marsha FILE PHOTOS/The Daily Toreador
Sharp Academy in Lubbock, which is a private school for students who need more than what is offered in the public
school system, Whitfield said. “She’s known for athletics, primarily, and being a fabulous coach,” Whitfield said. “However, she’s also known for promoting and supporting students toward academic excellence.” Goodacre was born in Lubbock, yet she, like Sharp, did not attend Tech. She kept her ties with Lubbock because her father was one of the earliest graduates from the university. Goodacre died in April of 2020. “As far as Texas Tech, her connection is that she donated or we’ve gotten several pieces from them. So, the Texas Tech Museum has one that has children playing a game of tug of war. Then there’s Park Place, which is on the side of the human sciences building,” Whitfield said. “It’s a large sculpture piece depicting all people of different walks of life sitting in a park setting. And you’ll notice a lot of people just enjoy sitting and being part of the sculpture.” Goodacre was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock in 1997, then they named what was Eighth Street after her in 2005. “I think one of the possible reasons that they were chosen to have streets named after them is, you know, they are very successful in their field,” Whitfield said. “They have national prominence, they are both positive role models and they both tried to support positive views of women, whether it’s athletics or, you know, in sculpture pieces.” @TanaThompsonDT
TOP Marsha Sharp’s photo at the Texas Tech Museum. LEFT Glenna Goodacre has art around the Texas Tech campus.