As we conclude the 2023-24 Morgan State Athletics season, we embark on a journey through time to delve into the rich history of our athletic program. Over the coming weeks, we will delve into the archives to relive iconic game recaps and compelling stories that have shaped the legacy of Morgan Athletics.

Join us as we pay homage to the legends who have graced our fields, courts, and tracks. Let us celebrate the moments that have brought us joy, pride, and inspiration. And let us draw upon the lessons of the past to empower our student-athletes and teams to achieve even greater heights in the future.

Here's what was reported on March 1952:
 

Morgan State Lassies Compile 6-1 Record
The Baltimore Afro-American

The 1952 Morgan State College girls' basketball team closed its season last week with a record of six wins and one loss. Among their victims were Storer College, Cheyney and Freedmen's Hospital Nurses. 

Left to right, kneeling, Greta McIntyre, Bettilee Jenkins, Marlene Jeffries, Beulah Dale, captain: Carolyn Stewart, Clara Paschal and Doris Spry; standing: Edith Burgess, Mollie Crawford, Dr. Effietee M. Payne, coach: Frances Williams, and Lucye Stockton, manager, Not shown are Annie Massiah, Ruth Bryant and Mary Parilla.



Bear Notes:
●  Dr. Effietee M. Payne was the first female head coach at Morgan State, where she served from 1946 to 1973.

●  She organized and coached the first women's varsity basketball team at Morgan, which debuted in 1947, as well as the first women's tennis team. 
●  Dr. Payne, who was also a professor in the physical education department, was instrumental in the development of women's soccer, field hockey, majorettes and swimming at Morgan.
●  Dr. Payne was one of the first African Americans to earn a doctorate from Indiana University, where she wrote her thesis, "A Crtical Evaluation of Selected Physical Education Films for Use with Girls and Women," in 1952.
●  Dr. Effietee M. Payne was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 1982. 

●  In her later years, she became known as "Mama" Payne, as her legend grew commensurate with those of the other great Morgan coaches of the day. Eddie Hurt and Earl "Papa" Banks. The Morgan matriarch's fight for full female participation in all varsity sports, a goal realized by Title IX in 1972; her advocacy for the building of Morgan's first all-purpose gymnasium, later named Hurt Gymnasium; and the continuing struggle for women's rights made her a larger-than-life figure to her players and all who bore witness to her work.

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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering more than 126 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.