Hall of Fame & History
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Betty Buckley was an instrumental figure in the history of athletics at Chestnut Hill College. During her tenure as an administrator, Betty sat as an advisor on the Chestnut Hill College Athletic Association (AA) until being named the College’s first Athletic Director with the ending of the AA in 1970. She helped foster the establishment of four intercollegiate varsity programs, including badminton, softball, lacrosse, and volleyball. Betty coached as well, directing tennis from 1942-60, 1966-67, and 1969-70, field hockey from 1943-49, swimming from 1943-59, and badminton 1945-47 and 1959-60. She is the author of Sixty Years of Sports at Chestnut Hill College 1924-1984, a publication summarizing the first, 60 years of athletics and physical education. In 35 years of service, “B.B.” gave everything she had to athletics and physical education at Chestnut Hill College. Sister Ann Edward Bennes is quoted as saying,
It is difficult to assess the vital role that Miss Betty Buckley played in the life and history of Chestnut Hill College. From 1942-1977, she directed the Physical Education department and made it a high-spirited part of campus life. She expanded the sports program to include every variety of women’s intramural and varsity teams. Convinced of the value of exercise, she aimed to involve every student in some competitive or individual activity, in addition to requiring a seasonal gym class...They respected her gentle, low-key manner that, in a paradoxical way, inspired them to excitement and often wild enthusiasm for winning. Whether her students were breathless with victory, dismayed in defeat, or fierce in rivalry, “Miss B.” never seemed to be
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