50 Years of Women's Varsity Athletics: Field Hockey

50 Years of Varsity Women's Athletics - Field Hockey Allison Mi

Photo by: Duke Athletics

50 Years of Women's Varsity Athletics: Field Hockey

10/6/2021 5:24:00 PM | Field Hockey, Athletics

Legacy Talk with Allison Miazga-Bedrick

By: GoDuke the Magazine

Duke is celebrating 50 years of varsity women's athletics in 2021-22. This is the first installment of a year-long GoDuke The Magazine series reflecting on the Blue Devils' 13 women's sports programs. For more from the university, see dukengwsd.com/dukewomens50 or #DukeWomens50 on social media.

Allison Miazga-Bedrick (Duke Class of 1991) was a three-time All-ACC performer, the Blue Devils' first field hockey All-America and the program's No. 2 career scorer when she graduated. She has worked for Mars, Inc. for the past 23 years and is the senior brand director for M&M's.

During your playing career, ACC field hockey was on the rise and Duke was nationally-ranked in the final polls for the first time. Did you sense it was an important time in the growth of the program?

I think it was an incredible time. Coach (Jacki) Silar assembled a great group of people and athletes, and every year we got better. And my senior year we were nationally ranked. It started with the individuals who were there, and 30 years later they're still my best friends. What we built on that field was teamwork, leadership and ultimately winning. It started off before me with the people who started the program and absolutely I see it continuing today. We sensed we were on the verge of breaking through.

What are some of your recollections of being a Duke student-athlete?

The people on the team and the culture. That is one of the most transformative moments of my life where I probably grew the most as an individual. Even now, leading a $2 billion brand, the leadership that I learned, the collaboration, the way to work with people — it really came from my career at Duke.

FIELD HOCKEY FILE

» Field hockey was one of eight varsity women’s sports during the 1970s, along with basketball, fencing, golf, gymnastics, swimming, tennis and volleyball.
» Duke has made 18 trips to the NCAA Tournament, with a record of 24-18. The 1992 squad (13-7 record) was Duke’s first NCAA tourney team.
» Six Duke teams have reached the final four of the NCAA Tournament, with four playing in the national championship game (2003- 04-05-13).
» Melissa Panasci (1994- 97) ranks as Duke’s all-time leader in goals (91) and also holds the single-season record (32). Katie Grant, the 2005 ACC offensive player of the year, stands as Duke’s career points leader with 223 (80 goals, 63 assists). Goalie Ritika Bowry (1988- 91) owns the best career goals against average (0.93).
» Former Duke defender Stefanie Fee, class of 2012, earned 114 international caps playing for the U.S. National Team, including a trip to the 2016 Olympics.

Growing up alongside the emergence of Title IX (which became law in 1972), did you realize at the time how opportunities were changing for women in sports?

I don't think I knew it when I was going through it. Obviously looking back, definitely. Getting a scholarship to Duke changed my life. Honestly, I wouldn't have been at Duke if I didn't get a scholarship so that was pretty special. Being an 18-year old kid, I didn't really know the true impact it would have on my life. But I knew if that opportunity wasn't afforded to me, the trajectory of my life could have been very different.

Academics was important as well. When you bring together Duke academics and athletics, it didn't get better than that. I remember my recruiting trip — my parents came, I went to a Duke men's basketball game and we were playing Georgia Tech. The students were passing the Blue Devil around the stadium. My parents were sitting up in the stands and they would have liked it if I went closer to home, but they looked at each other and said, "This is where she's going." It was definitely an impressionable moment.

Who were some of your role models as a young female athlete?

One was (tennis legend) Martina Navratilova. I always looked at her and she was a force, and back then that wasn't always accepted. I was definitely inspired by her — her tenacity, her strength and athleticism, she didn't hold back, so that was somebody I looked up to. And then (Hall of Fame coach) Pat Summitt from women's basketball, seeing her greatness. You look at Coach K today and the impact he's had, and I think Pat Summitt was equal to that. Having those two inspirational women to look up to definitely impacted me.

When you mention greatness, not many brands are liked more than M&M's, which turns 80 years this year. What do you do in your role?

First and foremost we bring smiles to consumers' faces. It doesn't get better than that. I'm the senior brand director. I lead from a marketing perspective, and functionally my team does all the communication, innovation, obviously the brand strategy. It is such an iconic brand that touches consumers' lives not only from a product perspective but also from an entertainment perspective. We have iconic beloved characters.

Pivoting from sports to business and trying to get that same sense of accomplishment, I've been able to find that, as a lot of ex-athletes have. You say "Duke" and people kind of look up. You say "M&M's" and people kind of look up. So it's these iconic brands that I have been very blessed to be associated with.

How challenging is it to maintain such a positive aura and stay relevant with a brand that's been around for so long?

That is the challenge. The bar keeps getting higher and higher and you're building on greatness. There is something challenging about that. But you can also think about the momentum that is behind the brand, both internally from Mars from an associate perspective and also from our consumers. It is a huge wave I'm riding. Obviously we always have to innovate, we always have to think differently, we always have to reach new consumers in new ways. But it is a great core asset that we have to play with.

Is there a favorite campaign you've worked on in 23 years with Mars?

Back when I was on Snickers, I worked on the Snickers "You're not you" Brady Bunch Super Bowl campaign (2015) with Danny Trejo and the Brady Bunch. Being a fan of the Brady Bunch growing up, that was a lot of fun, one that I'll always remember.

Thirty years after your Duke field hockey career, what does it mean to you to be part of the fabric of 50 years of women's athletics at Duke?

It's probably one of the most important parts of my life besides my family. I'll be honest, it's transformed who I am and some of the best relationships I have are people I met at Duke. So it's hugely important to me and I'm super proud to be associated with Duke.

50 YEARS OF WOMEN'S VARSITY ATHLETICS

“It is incredible to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. I can remember being seven in 1974 and wanting to play softball so badly. Girls could not tryout for the softball league until nine years of age…but the boys could try out for baseball at age 5. I was good enough to play, but still, girls were not allowed to play in the boys league. Even though my mom said that girls having the opportunity to play organized sport at nine was so much more than she had had, I still sensed the inequality. I watched and learned from my aunt who played college sport and studied physical education throughout the late 1960s and 70s. She passionately supported boys and girls in sport and dedicated her life to providing positive, educational and competitive experiences for both through high school physical education, interscholastic volleyball, basketball and field hockey. Her career opportunities in sport were limited, but her passion to play helped inspire others along the way, including me.

“In 1980, women’s field hockey was introduced to the Olympic Games (men’s field hockey was introduced to the Olympics in 1908). A hometown field hockey player nine years my senior, Sue Marcellus, made that team. She was the first female I knew that made it to the “big leagues.” I knew then that field hockey was my focus. I wanted to play in college and I wanted to be an Olympic field hockey player, then eventually a coach.

“Since then, I have seen the growth, the changes, the struggles, the inequities, the triumphs and the awesome power of women in sport — through my playing and coaching within youth leagues, middle and high schools, colleges and the Olympics. We have come so far, yet continue to strive to reach equity in opportunities, pay and respect at each level.

“Each day I get to go to a job that I love. Each day I give thanks for the women, like my aunt, like Sue (the supportive men) that paved the way for the opportunities that I enjoyed. Each day I carry the torch to continue to create more opportunities for women in sport and to improve the quality of their experiences.””