By Ty Schadt, Staff Writer
What if I told you that nine women paved the way for intercollegiate basketball at Asbury University? Picture this: it’s 1972. Kresge Hall is under construction; students are strolling around campus in fur coats and turtlenecks and only a handful of teams compete on an intercollegiate level. Students are not united through games such as League of Legends or Taggers versus Survivors, but rather intramural basketball. Each class has their own team and compete against one another in widely watched and anticipated games. The competition is stellar, rivalries are real and bragging rights are coveted.
Little did Asburians know at the time, but it was through this program one of the most influential teams in Asbury’s athletic history would blossom.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]UK’s only losses in the 1972-73 regular season were to Marshall University (WV) and an Asbury College (KY) club team I coached.[/perfectpullquote]
In the 1971-72 school year, physical education professor Rita Pritchett quietly began recruiting several intramural female players to form an “all-star” team. She united eight members: senior Becky Wood, juniors Mary Cady and Linda Crouse, sophomores Becky Glass and Karen Pennington and freshmen Andrea Holston (Bogard), Debbie Snelling and Patti Snelling (Howard). Pritchett then took the girls, dubbed “The God Squad,” to a referee clinic at Transylvania University. The team participated in scrimmages to help officials gain experience, and Pritchett ran into her friend Sue Feamster while there. Feamster happened to be the coach of the University of Kentucky “Lady Kats” at the time and invited Pritchett to bring her team to Memorial Coliseum for a game.
While most players don’t remember much from the game, Patti Snelling recalls the size of UK’s players, and how she accidentally slapped one on the chest while trying to deflect an inbounds pass. Debbi Snelling remembers splitting her chin hours before game time and playing with 15 stitches. However, all agree the feeling of pride and jubilation that came when the final buzzer sounded was unforgettable.
Though the exact score remains uncertain, Debbie Snelling assures, “it was a handsome victory.” Further verification of this monumental win can be found in Pritchett’s dissertation, where she writes, “UK’s only losses in the 1972-73 regular season were to Marshall University (WV) and an Asbury College (KY) club team I coached.”
Despite seeming like an incredible event, Wood expressed the victory didn’t seem all too impressive at the time. “It was an exciting opportunity, but we thought we were a good team, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.” Wood played two years of intercollegiate ball in Texas before transferring to Asbury her junior year.
“Going into that game we had nothing to lose and felt privileged to even be there,” said Patti Snelling. “We were confident, because even though we may not have been an official team, Coach Pritchett made us feel like we were national champions.” The Snelling sisters were the starting guards for the squad, and Debbie’s play was so impressive, she would later get recruited by the Sue Feamster and join the Lady Kats in the 1974-75 season.
The team went on to defeat clubs from Midway, Transylvania and Eastern Kentucky University, before eventually disbanding just a brief month after their creation. The administration feared Pritchett’s team too closely resembled an intercollegiate team; something they weren’t willing to support at the time. In fact, It would be a while before the administration felt like supporting such a team. According to Wood, intercollegiate women’s basketball didn’t debut at Asbury until the late 1980s.
While the team may have lasted only a short while, the legacy of the God Squad has lasted nearly half a century. “Without a doubt, Rita Pritchett was the pioneer for intercollegiate basketball at Asbury,” said Patti Snelling. “Also, I believe the God Squad was the forerunner for Asbury intercollegiate basketball teams.” Taking into consideration what all this team accomplished and the year in which they existed, it’s hard to argue her point.
