The Rise: Tuesday Testimonials with Eileen Brennan-Erler '83
10/31/2017 5:00:00 PM | Cross Country, Video
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Nursing was the hook to get Eileen Brennan-Erler '83 to go to the University of San Francisco back in 1979. But while she was diligently studying, she was also pioneering athletics for the Dons.
USF began offering cross country in the 1977-78 season, and Brennan-Erler came to the University two years later, one of the earliest athletes in the program.
Brennan-Erler was oft mentioned in the San Francisco Foghorn, including this glowing feature written by Chris Nowak on Nov. 9, 1979:
"It was quite well known that some colleges had more to offer [to female athletes] than others," Brennan-Erler recalled, "but I feel like USF was really making an effort, even when we were here, the fact that there was a cross country team and they brought us to big meets and started to buy us things. I saw the progression and there was a real sense that USF was trying to work toward Title IX and equality."
Brennan-Erler continues both nursing and running, to this day, working as a medical science liaison at Veridia Diagnostics. You'll also find her racing with the Impala Racing Team, something she started participating in 35 years ago when still a student on the Hilltop, and something that she's continued doing ever since.
The progression of the USF program that had women's basketball coach Sue Rojcewicz leading the squad with basketball drills in the morning and a run from Ocean Beach down Fulton Street in the afternoon has come far. So far, in fact, that now the USF runners are some of the best in the nation with this year's cross country team on the brink of yet another amazing finish to the season after scooping up the West Coast Conference championship crown with a 1-2-3 finish and holding a firm grip on the No. 4 ranking in the nation.
"Looking back, it's wonderful to know that we helped plant the seeds, and how wonderful that these women have been given the opportunity," Brennan-Erler noted. "You've got to thank USF for providing the opportunity, and good for Charlotte [NCAA track and field champion, Charlotte Taylor] – she's a pioneer to take it to that level and to attract more people of that caliber … that's how you get bigger traction."
The Dons look to continue their rise in the postseason, competing at the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 10 before heading to Louisville for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18, continuing to blaze trails that were groomed in part by Brennan-Erler and the original women running the trails around the Hilltop.
Nursing was the hook to get Eileen Brennan-Erler '83 to go to the University of San Francisco back in 1979. But while she was diligently studying, she was also pioneering athletics for the Dons.
USF began offering cross country in the 1977-78 season, and Brennan-Erler came to the University two years later, one of the earliest athletes in the program.
Brennan-Erler was oft mentioned in the San Francisco Foghorn, including this glowing feature written by Chris Nowak on Nov. 9, 1979:
With all the successful team, there are the talented few leading the3 pack through a series of hills, a difficult stretch of road, or jockeying for position off a crowded starting line. Within the talented few is the one particular runner who distinguished herself by her past performances and her current improvements. The leader of the women's team whose running talent is gradually becoming of age is the runner of which we speak now.
Eileen Brennan is that runner … Hearing of Eileen's past track excellence when already fully cognizant of her prodigious accomplishments from this past season made Eileen all the more deserving of special recognition.
"It was quite well known that some colleges had more to offer [to female athletes] than others," Brennan-Erler recalled, "but I feel like USF was really making an effort, even when we were here, the fact that there was a cross country team and they brought us to big meets and started to buy us things. I saw the progression and there was a real sense that USF was trying to work toward Title IX and equality."
Brennan-Erler continues both nursing and running, to this day, working as a medical science liaison at Veridia Diagnostics. You'll also find her racing with the Impala Racing Team, something she started participating in 35 years ago when still a student on the Hilltop, and something that she's continued doing ever since.
The progression of the USF program that had women's basketball coach Sue Rojcewicz leading the squad with basketball drills in the morning and a run from Ocean Beach down Fulton Street in the afternoon has come far. So far, in fact, that now the USF runners are some of the best in the nation with this year's cross country team on the brink of yet another amazing finish to the season after scooping up the West Coast Conference championship crown with a 1-2-3 finish and holding a firm grip on the No. 4 ranking in the nation.
"Looking back, it's wonderful to know that we helped plant the seeds, and how wonderful that these women have been given the opportunity," Brennan-Erler noted. "You've got to thank USF for providing the opportunity, and good for Charlotte [NCAA track and field champion, Charlotte Taylor] – she's a pioneer to take it to that level and to attract more people of that caliber … that's how you get bigger traction."
The Dons look to continue their rise in the postseason, competing at the NCAA West Regionals on Nov. 10 before heading to Louisville for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18, continuing to blaze trails that were groomed in part by Brennan-Erler and the original women running the trails around the Hilltop.
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