Owosso - One father never had to worry about a driveway full of snow.

Growing up in Perry, long winter months were never enough to stop Shiri Rushton from playing basketball.

As summer rolled around, Rushton’s love of sports spread to baseball.

She never once thought sports weren’t for women.

As a young woman she didn’t understand the concept of inequality - she just wanted to play.

In fact, as a fifth-grader she went to a local organizer for Little League Baseball and asked if she could play. He said no, but that wasn’t enough to dampen her spirits.

In middle school, she organized her own basketball team, but no one would coach it.

Rushton graduated from Perry High in 1971 without participating on a single sport’s team.

When she found herself a freshman at MSU, her love was reborn.

“I was like a kid in a candy store,” Rushton said. “I wanted to play everything.”

At MSU she played basketball, cross country, field hockey and track and field. But she never once received the same recognition male athletes at MSU enjoyed.

Twenty-six years later, Rushton is one of 300-plus female athletes to be honored Sunday at Kellogg Center with their varsity letters for their accomplishments at MSU.

The search for female athletes who haven’t received their letters started almost a year ago by the university athletics department.

MSU began recognizing women for their involvement in varsity athletics in 1975 - three years after gender equity legislation Title IX was enacted. But it wasn’t until 1980 that female athletes were awarded letters.

As a 1976 graduate, Rushton is one of the 200 female athletes who will be on hand Sunday. Athletes from as far back as the 1930s will be honored.

She said the ceremony means more to her then just receiving the letter - it’s about catching up with old teammates.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “I hope everyone is wearing a name tag,”

Now a health teacher at Owosso Middle School, Rushton said she never felt neglected about not receiving a varsity letter. She said the ceremony allows her to remember her glory years.

The camaraderie among teammates was something Rushton loved during her time at MSU.

“We supported each other,” she said. “When I was an assistant here it wasn’t the same feeling.”

Rushton was an assistant for the MSU women’s track team from 1980 to 1982.

At MSU she realized male athletes got the notoriety, but it was a sign of the times, she said.

Rushton pushed on, eyeing track as her favorite sport at MSU.

“I remember the basketball coach getting mad because I missed practices so that I could run indoor track,” she said.

But it was former track and field coach Jim Bibbs that she looked up to the most at MSU.

“Mr. Bibbs interested and motivated me more than any other coach,” she said.

Rushton always believed true honors came from hard work, and her 3.5 grade-point average speaks for itself.

Rocky, Rushton’s husband, said his wife is as competitive as ever.

“Her eyes still light up whenever she walks into Jenison (Field House),” he said.

MSU is the third university in the state to honor past female athletes with varsity letters. Northern Michigan University was the first in 1997, followed by Central Michigan University in October 2000.

“We have been looking forward to this day and making it a signature event for the athletics department to honor these former athletes,” said Shelley Appelbaum, associate athletics director and senior women’s administrator.

Central Michigan senior associate athletics director Marcy Weston said she’s been in Mount Pleasant for 29 years - 17 as a coach - and said the decision to honor female athletes was possibly the biggest event ever to occur on campus.

“It was the most exhilarating event we’ve ever hosted here,” Weston said. “There were tears and happiness to reunite with old teammates - it was tremendous.”

Weston said when they were competing, these athletes didn’t feel left out, but the event helped show they were appreciated.

“It’s the right thing to do and it’s nice to see State take the initiative,” she said.

The requirements to receive a varsity letter depend on playing time and number of games played. Because the records are so hard to keep track of, MSU ignored the policy.

Ryan Wallace can be reached at wallac89@msu.edu.