50 Years of Title IX: Gretchen Schuyler
A true pioneer in women’s athletics, Gretchen Schuyler participated in numerous sports at Sargent College and excelled in all of them. As an undergraduate she played nine sports and was particularly outstanding in lacrosse, field hockey, basketball and soccer. Following her graduation, she was named 10 times to the U.S. Lacrosse team and three times as a reserve on the U.S. Field Hockey team.
During World War II, Gretchen bypassed the military, since it was not the practice then to send women overseas, and joined the Red Cross. She served 33 months in the European Theatre and 13 months in combat, assigned to Patton’s Third Army. She was trapped with the VIIIth Corps at Bastone when General McCaulliff refused to surrender to the Germans. For her part, and that of her fellow Red Cross Workers on the front lines, Gretchen received commendations from both General Bradley and General Taylor as well as the U.S. Army Bronze Star from President Truman. Following the war, she returned to BU as a faculty member at Sargent and resumed her competition in sports.
Considered one of the most versatile lacrosse players of all-time, Schuyler played midfield for the U.S. National Team from 1935 to 1939 before later playing first home (attack) in 1946 and goalie in 1948.
Schuyler was one of the first four women inducted into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978 and earned a spot in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1994.
In 1982, BU created the Gretchen Schuyler Award, given annually to the top female scholar-athlete in the senior class. Schuyler, who earned three degrees from BU, passed away in 2002.
