A supporter of women’s athletics

Back in the 1980’s, Debbie Ryan changed one facet of women’s collegiate athletics nationally, but not without some give and take with then-senior associate athletic director Jim West.

West, who died last week, was known as an administrator who would get his coaches whatever they needed if — and sometimes it was a big if — the coaches could convince him they really needed it.

In those days, there was a fledgling company called Jogbra that had created the only sports bra in the world. Ryan, the UVa women’s basketball coach, had received information that explained women who played high-impact sports — or sports in general — should be wearing a sports bra to protect against tissue damage.

“I went up to Jim’s office, which was essentially one office divided into two and I told him I was asking for sports bras for the entire department of women’s sports,” Ryan recounted.

“Jim looked at me puzzled and said, ‘What in the hell are you talking about?’”

Ryan explained that all women needed them. West asked how much they cost. When Ryan informed him they ranged between $32 and $35 each, West shook his head and said there was no way, that he couldn’t buy them for one team, let alone the whole department.

Ryan wasn’t one to take no for an answer. She asked the company to send her research about how damaging it was for female athletes to go without this particular piece of equipment.

“I made another appointment to go see him and in the meantime I got all our coaches to sign a petition,” Ryan said. “So I go back up there armed with all this information.”

She walked in and West wasn’t alone. AD Dick Schultz was there as well, at West’s request.

“I needed reinforcement,” West said to Ryan, knowing she wasn’t going to go away easily.

She handed West the research and her petition.

“I’m not sure if we actually got all the signatures,” she giggled. “I had George Welsh and Terry Holland on there. I may have forged them, I don’t know.

“When Jim saw those two names on the list, he said, ‘What are their names doing on here?’

“I told him they were supporting my cause, to which Jim said, ‘Baloney, they’re not supporting you.”

West handed all the papers to Schultz, who was a no-nonsense guy. He looked them over and told Ryan it couldn’t be done. West seconded the motion.

Ryan asked why.

“I said, ‘You would do it for men’s jocks, why can’t you give us Jogbras?’” Ryan remembered. “They said, ‘Because jocks only cost five dollars and Jogbras are $35. There’s just no way.’”

She almost gave up. But as she was walking out the door, Ryan stopped. Both West and Schultz must have known they were in trouble.

“I don’t know what possessed me to do this, but I turned back and said, ‘So, if jocks cost $32 and Jogbras cost $5, would you not give the men their jocks?’”

West and Schultz looked at each other and West turned around and said, “All right, you can have them.”

Ryan said UVa was the first program in the country to have them and instantly became famous with the other women’s coaches — such as Tennessee’s Pat Summit — who were calling asking how she convinced the school to buy them.

“I guess you could just call it the Jogbra caper,” Ryan laughed. “Jim West was one of a kind. My players absolutely loved him throughout the years. He actually came to my Hall of Fame ceremony last summer even though he couldn’t even walk. That’s the kind of friend Jim West was.”