Andi Myers just wanted to make sure she always had something new to look forward to during her nearly 40 years in sports. Her humble demeanor suggests she never set out to be a groundbreaker—she just challenged herself, every day, to make things better for student-athletes and coaches.

And, as a basketball coach, educator and leader, her leadership, ties to Title IX and connections to university presidents made that journey and those challenges elevate opportunities for women. 

Ultimately, that challenge was to become the first woman to lead a Valley member’s full athletics program. By the time she retired in 2005, she was one of just 15 of the more than 300 NCAA Division I schools at the time with female ADs.  With more than 360 Division I members now, that list of female ADs numbers more than 70—growth, but still miles from equity.

To whatever doubters may have remained, Myers’ eight successful years as Indiana State Athletics Director proved that gender no longer disqualifies female AD candidates.  

Myers Connected to Bayh & St. John

Myers was influenced by two people involved in the creation and early implementation of Title IX. 

Inspired by his wife, Marvella, and his father, Birch E. Bayh, Sr., Indiana U.S. Sen. Birch E. Bayh, Jr., authored Title IX of the Higher Education Act of 1965. 

Marvella Bayh, a powerful political force in her own right, was dedicated to health and fitness, and believed in opportunities for women. President Lyndon Johnson pushed for her to be chair of the Democratic National Committee, but the deal was nixed—ostensibly--because of her husband’s role in the Senate.

Sen. Bayh’s father had coached baseball and basketball, and served as athletic director at Indiana State. An aspiring baseball player in his youth, the junior Bayh grew up in Terre Haute and took classes at Indiana State before completing his degree at Purdue. During his three terms in the U.S. Senate, besides Title IX, he championed the 25th Amendment--establishing the succession to the presidency--and the 26th Amendment--lowered the U.S. voting age to 18. 

When Myers entered Indiana State as a freshman in 1962, Dr. Eleanor Forsythe St. John chaired the physical education department and had already been teaching physical education to women for 20 years at ISU.

During the formation and development of Title IX, St. John used connections to Sen. Bayh to help Indiana colleges and universities prepare for it. The legal implementation of Title IX came seven years after the bill was passed.

Myers admires St. John’s efforts.

“Dr. St. John was into dance and swimming,” said Myers. “At the start of Title IX, women’s sports were under the auspices of P.E., so Dr. St. John got Indiana State started.”

Myers remembers Sen. Bayh’s visits to Indiana State after Title IX implementation began.

“Sen. Bayh would come to campus, find me, and talk to me about Title IX,” said Myers. “He always wanted to know ‘how has it helped?’ He never stopped caring about how Title IX was working.”

And Myers is proud of how Bayh and St. John drove Title IX. 

“Our connection to Title IX is special in Indiana and at Indiana State,” she said. “It is part of our history.”

Andi the Athlete

During Myers’ undergraduate time at Indiana State, “Play Days” were the way women competed in sports. 

“On Saturday morning, you showed up at the P.E. Building because women’s sports were part of physical education,” said Myers. “You paid your quarter (25 cents) for your insurance for the day, got into a station wagon and headed out somewhere (another campus) to play sports.”

At the time, field hockey was Myers’ first love. But the Indiana State basketball coach had other ideas—especially since, at 5-foot-9, she was tall for women of her generation.

“The basketball coach asked me ‘Myers, do you play basketball?’” she said. “I told her that I hadn’t really played on an organized team before. She told me to see her after the field hockey season ended. I did, and that’s how I got started in basketball.”

Myers played both sports through her undergraduate career, and, after getting her bachelor's degree in 1966, stayed another year to pick up a master’s degree.

Andi the Coach & Educator

After graduate school, Myers became head basketball coach and physical education department chair at Vincennes University before returning to Indiana State as head women’s basketball coach in 1982.

“Vincennes was an experience I needed,” said Myers, who recalls cheerleader sponsor as one of her lengthy list of early duties. 

Her return to Indiana State came at the start of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference (predecessor to the Valley for women’s sports) and the move of women's sports from AIAW to NCAA. At the start, Gateway members Drake, Illinois State and Southern Illinois were already established national basketball powers.

“I was Indiana State’s first full-time woman coach,” said Myers. “It was a great opportunity. It was rough at the start, but we competed.”

Powered by stars Amy Hile and Amy Vanderkolk, Myers brought Indiana State into the mix, tying for the Gateway regular-season title in 1988 and earning Gateway Coach of the Year. Sycamore basketball improved under Myers despite a resource and staffing disparity with the conference leaders.

“Until my last couple of years as coach, my only staff was a graduate assistant,” said Myers. “We may have had equal scholarships, but that didn’t make us ‘equal’ to other programs.”

Myers made the switch to athletic administration in 1989 as SWA. 

Connected to Presidents

Early in Myers’ career, athletics leaders did not report directly to presidents or chancellors as they do today, but Myers appreciated how three presidents she served supported women’s athletics.

A question to Myers from Vincennes University President Dr. Isaac Beckes—a professed basketball fan-- led to VU women’s basketball players having tuition waivers at least three years before Title IX was implemented.

“He asked me how many scholarships we had for the women’s team,” said Myers. “We didn’t have any at that time, but he promised ‘next year, you’ll have scholarships.’ And we did.” 

When Myers returned to Indiana State, Dr. Richard G. Landini was in the middle of leading bold institutional moves during a 17-year run as ISU president.

“Dr. Landini made the decision to combine the men’s and women's athletics departments,” said Myers. “He was someone you could talk to, and, when it came to gender equity, his heart was in the right place. He didn’t understand how football impacted equity, but I saw him fight for women’s sports at conference meetings.”

Dr. John W. Moore, Landini’s successor, impressed Myers with his attention to detail.

“I really appreciated how he looked at the details of equity, and helped us advance how student-athletes were treated,” she said. “I was fortunate throughout my career to have presidents who supported athletics. They wanted to win, but they also cared about the direction we were moving.”

And they had confidence in Myers’ leadership.

Andi the Inspiration

Angela Martin, Indiana State’s current Director of Track & Field/Cross Country, and head coach, believes Myers’ dependable presence and availability to student-athletes and coaches impacted hers, and others, careers.

“Andi was always a presence around ISU,” said Martin, who, as Angie Bruecker, was a five-time Valley track and field champion, and an all-American in the 800 meters.  “As an athlete, I spent a lot of time around the track and field offices and visited Andi’s office often.”

From the start of her coaching career, Martin valued Myers’ advice. 

“When I transitioned from being a student-athlete into being a coach, I met with her for a lunch interview,” said Martin.  “We had pleasant conversation, but the one thing I remember most, was her asking me about mentors. She advised me to learn from my former coaches who were now my bosses (Valley legends John McNichols and John Gartland).”

But Martin, now a three-time Valley Coach of the Year leading the Sycamores to championships, remembers what Myers taught her about details.

“Coaching is bits and pieces linked together,” said Martin. “Andi encouraged me to be myself, but always be observant.”

And Martin values how Myers lived her own advice leading with a steady hand and a calm demeanor.

“Andi had some hard times to navigate,” said Martin. “But there were very few times I ever heard her raise her voice. She led the athletic department with a quiet resilience.”

Problem-Solver

As an administrator, Myers never forgot what it was like to coach with limited resources.

"You want coaches who want to do better, and, to do better, they need more resources,” said Myers. “I understood that clearly every day of my career. Coaches would come to me and tell me what they needed. I listened and understood, but, most of the time, the answer would be ‘I’ve got 17 coaches who all need more. I just wish we had more to give.’ So we looked at how they could make better use of what they already had.”

 It was a simple answer to a complex question, but the message resonated. 

 “It may not have made them feel better,” she said. “And it never stopped them from pressing their needs, but I felt like, most of the time, they understood.”

With 35 years as a Sycamore head coach and assistant coach in cross country, track and field, John Gartland had a front-row seat to Myers’ ISU leadership. He pointed to her success as a coach, compliance director and Senior Woman Administrator as preparation for being AD.

“Her style was hands-on, and she handled problems directly,” said Gartland. “She was always available, listened and respected coaches.”

As AD, Myers’ willingness to listen impressed coaches and staff.

Gartland recalled a proposed departmental change that he, then a head coach, thought could adversely affect track and field athletes. He went to Myers with his concerns.

“She listened to my thoughts on the subject, and, consequently, did not make the changes,” said Gartland. 

Martin, an assistant coach at Indiana State through the end of Myers’ career, appreciates the example Myers set.

“I felt that the expectations were clear to work hard to do the best you can with what you have,” said Martin. “Being a woman in the athletics world is extremely tough. Andi worked very hard to earn respect in a field that is dominated by men.”

Encouraging Women

During Myers’ time in Indiana State athletics, the Sycamores were frequently touched by the difficulty of finding women to coach women’s sports.

“The biggest problem in hiring women to coach was finding candidates,” said Myers. “We would have a position open and no women would apply.”

That took Myers back to her coaching days.

“We would have to try and recruit female candidates,” she said. “That appears to be a problem that still exists today.”

Myers still accepts speaking engagements and is willing to pick up the phone to help whoever calls.

“When I get a chance to speak, I encourage the women who are in coaching to stay in, and be prepared to take the next step,” said Myers.

For some, that next step is another coaching job. But, for Myers—35 years ago—her next step was into administration, and she is happy and proud that she took it.

“All my life, I’ve been a planner … prepare for that next step,” said Myers. “I planned to retire at 60, but stayed one more year. Other than that, and being athletics director, I can say that my career was what I planned it to be.”

Andi’s Gifts Keep On Giving

Since retiring in 2005, Myers has continued supporting the Sycamores. She had helped bring the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships to Terre Haute, and then brought them back for a long stretch from 2004-2011.

“Many people forget that her first ‘retirement job’ was as meet director for the NCAA Cross Country Championships,” said Gartland. “Andi has been a true pioneer in athletics at Indiana State. I feel blessed to have been her colleague.”

Martin spoke for many when she described Myers’ role in her life and career.

“Indiana State holds a very special place in my heart,” said Martin. “I think that it holds the same spot in Andi’s as she continues to give back to the programs that she loves and that were a huge part of her life.”

More than five decades after arriving at Indiana State as a freshman, Myers is still a physical presence, a guiding mentor, and more, for her alma mater. Late in 2022, Myers donated $50,000 to Sycamore women’s basketball. 

When Myers’ gift, part of Indiana State’s “Be So Bold” campaign, was announced, Dr. Deborah J. Curtis, ISU President, put Myers’ leadership, devotion and presence in perspective.

 "She is a great Sycamore whose inspiring career as a player, coach, and athletic director helped pave the way for women and girls in sports who came after her,” said Curtis. “We are honored that she continues to make such a significant impact on our students' lives."

As valuable as the monetary gift might be, Myers’ mentoring extends her lifelong gift—herself--to Sycamore athletics.