Celeste Chartier is regarded as the founder
of the women’s basketball program at the College in the
pre-Title IX era of intercollegiate athletics. At the time, there
were no athletic opportunities for women on either the
intercollegiate or intramural level until, with the help and
encouragement of many others on campus, she led a movement which
resulted in the formation of the Women’s Basketball Club for
the 1971-1972 academic year. The team posted a perfect 14-0 record
that season - the first of just two undefeated seasons in program
history, with the other coming only three years later in
1974-75.
According to the 1972
“Acres” yearbook, the team success “hinged on the
point totals of Celeste Chartier” with the team earning big
victories over Boston College and Barrington College. The team was
known for being “enthusiastic, surprising and
upset-minded” that first season according to
“Acres.”
Celeste Chartier is regarded as the founder
of the women’s basketball program at the College in the
pre-Title IX era of intercollegiate athletics. At the time, there
were no athletic opportunities for women on either the
intercollegiate or intramural level until, with the help and
encouragement of many others on campus, she led a movement which
resulted in the formation of the Women’s Basketball Club for
the 1971-1972 academic year. The team posted a perfect 14-0 record
that season - the first of just two undefeated seasons in program
history, with the other coming only three years later in
1974-75.