Mary Fetter Semanik, 86, a leader in women's athletics at Drexel
Mary Fetter Semanik, 86, formerly of Wayne, a standout lacrosse player who went on to become a longtime director of women's athletics at Drexel University, died Friday, Feb. 19, of cerebral vascular disease at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/5KCGVHXYUFHMLN3BII3WCLJASI.jpg)
Mary Fetter Semanik, 86, formerly of Wayne, a standout lacrosse player who went on to become a longtime director of women's athletics at Drexel University, died Friday, Feb. 19, of cerebral vascular disease at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
Mrs. Semanik began work at Drexel in the 1950s as a teacher and coach. She and her husband, John, a 1956 Drexel graduate, carved out parallel career paths. He was Drexel's director of men's athletics from 1962 to 1991; she was the women's director from 1965 to 1991.
They helped guide the women's athletic program through the changes brought about by Title IX legislation enacted in 1972, and through the move from the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women to the NCAA Division I for women, according to drexeldragons.com.
Her husband was very supportive of the women's program, she said in an interview for his 2008 obituary.
"When I told him the women needed a training room, he divided the men's training room and put a door in the middle, and told the male students they would have to wear shorts," she said. "He came to all the women's games, and I went to the men's games."
Drexel administrators sought the couple's ideas for a new physical education center. Before the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center opened in 1975, basketball games were played in a nearby armory.
Under the couple's leadership, men's athletics at Drexel moved to the Division I level in 1973. Women's athletics followed in 1982.
"Mrs. Semanik was an administrator that embodied women's athletics, and helped smooth the transition to Title IX," the university said on its website.
Born in Media, she graduated from Swarthmore High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Temple University, where she starred in lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, softball, and bowling.
She was captain of the 1950 hockey team and an all-American in lacrosse. She was inducted into the Temple Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
From 1955 to 1957, Mrs. Semanik played on the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association touring team. Later, she was president of the Philadelphia Women's Lacrosse Association and the U.S. Women's Lacrosse Association.
In 1992, the year after the two retired, Drexel established the John and Mary Semanik Awards honoring Drexel's top male and female athletes. The names and photographs of award winners are on display in the Semanik Lobby of the Athletic Center.
During a ceremony naming the lobby after the Semaniks early last year, Drexel president John A. Fry said that the family atmosphere in Drexel athletics was started by the Semaniks and "is a legacy that continues today."
She was inducted into the Drexel Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994.
Last February, Mrs. Semanik gave $1 million to endow the first women's coaching position in Drexel's history. Women lacrosse players are wearing a patch in her memory throughout the 2016 season.
She lived in Wayne before moving to Newtown Square.
She is survived by 12 nieces and nephews.
A viewing from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, and Friday, Feb. 26, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Ruffenach Funeral Home, 4900 Township Line Rd., Drexel Hill, will be followed by a graveside service at SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.
Donations may be made to the Drexel University Athletic Department, 3141 Chestnut St., Philadelphia 19104.
610-313-8102