Early History of Mount St Joseph University Athletics, 1969-1994 Paperback – October 8, 2025

With sub-par facilities and operating on a “shoestring” budget, this is a book about one of the very best physical education and intercollegiate sports programs in the beginning of women’s intercollegiate athletics that continued throughout the period of this book. It is the story of outstanding teachers, coaches and spectacular athletes who loved sports and who were determined to excel to their maximum capabilities. It illustrates what hard work, dedication, selfless devotion and team camaraderie can accomplish. It was a magnificent time!Jean Dowell was an assistant professor in physical education and head women’s basketball coach for twenty-four years, 1970-1994, at the College of Mount St. Joseph, now Mount St. Joseph University. In 1978 she became the Director of Athletics and was instrumental in initiating men’s athletics at the college beginning in1990.A native of North Carolina, Dowell was a champion athlete in both basketball and softball playing in national tournaments in both sports. She played on Western Carolina University’s first women’s intercollegiate basketball team as a senior in 1965-66, and she was the first women’s head basketball coach at the University of Georgia in 1968.Dowell’s MSJ basketball team won Ohio’s first ever intercollegiate state championship in 1970-71 defeating Kent State, 55-41. Twenty years later after many regular season and tournament championships along the way, Dowell took her 1992 team to the NAIA Final Four. She is in numerous sports halls of fame including the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. Read more