{"id":190665,"date":"2022-09-29T07:30:51","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T11:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=190665"},"modified":"2022-10-07T08:37:38","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T12:37:38","slug":"cathy-bochain-proud-to-be-part-of-womens-athletics-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/09\/cathy-bochain-proud-to-be-part-of-womens-athletics-heritage\/","title":{"rendered":"Cathy Bochain Proud to Be Part of UConn Women’s Athletics Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cathy Bochain \u201983 (PHR) does not see herself as a pioneer of UConn athletics, but as more of a bridge-builder to the success that Husky teams enjoy today.<\/p>\n

Bochain was a member of the first freshman class of women\u2019s basketball student-athletes in which every member was on scholarship, and she graduated as the all-time leader in scoring and steals in University history. There were women\u2019s basketball players on scholarship before, but never a whole class \u2013 a direct result of the passage of the landmark federal Title IX legislation in 1972.<\/p>\n

Bochain will be among hundreds of former UConn women student-athletes that are returning to campus on the weekend of October 14-16 for a celebration of the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of Title IX and the commemoration of an enduring legacy of UConn women\u2019s athletics<\/a> since its varsity inception in 1974.<\/p>\n

Former UConn student-athletes who have not registered yet for the weekend are welcome to do so at this special website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Cathy
Cathy Bochain during her days as a member of the UConn women’s basketball team (Cyril Morris \/ UConn Athletics Photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018These things would not have happened\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bochain grew up in Plainfield, and played the usual sports while growing up with her brothers and friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t very cool for girls to play with the boys, but I did, and I got picked on a bit, but that made me pretty tough,\u201d says Bochain. \u201cWe had an old Little League field near our house, and we played baseball all summer and football in the fall. I came to basketball a little late, but as I started to play it more and more, not only did I like it, but I was pretty good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bochain enjoyed a standout basketball career at Plainfield High School and was encouraged by her coach, Claudia Combies, to pursue a college scholarship.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a real feminist for the era,\u201d says Bochain of her coach. \u201cShe had a bulletin board outside our gym that had pictures of people like Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova and the Connecticut Falcons softball team<\/a>. She was very progressive and made sure we knew the opportunities out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bochain was also part of the first wave of girls’ AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) teams, and beat out 4,000 players at a tournament in Boston for a spot on a prestigious team that included future US national team member Medina Dixon and the 1985 NCAA tournament most outstanding player, Tracy Claxton.<\/p>\n

Bochain was recruited heavily by colleges and received scholarship offers from Yale, Boston University, and Boston College, but choose to come to UConn and its nationally renowned School of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n

To this day, she is grateful for the opportunity of a full scholarship and to graduate debt-free. \u00a0She also credits Title IX with the opportunities she had in high school, college, and in AAU.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone has well-wishes and thinks that equality will evolve, but without Title IX, these things would have not happened, so it was really important,\u201d says Bochain.<\/p>\n