Hall of Fame
When a twelve-year-old Wanda Rhodes first left the family farm in Hart, Texas to visit Bethany Peniel College, she knew it was the school she wanted to attend when she grew up. Now an octogenarian, Wanda Rhodes is still here, cheering on the many teams that are her legacy.
It’s not that Rhodes didn’t have offers to go elsewhere. It’s just that she had a vision to develop sports programs beyond what the college had ever accomplished. It wasn’t easy being a female athlete in her day, but Rhodes never turned her back on her passion for the court. As she would say, “I just wanted to shoot.” And shoot she did, playing for the intramural teams whenever she had a chance, because that was all that was allowed in her day. She never would have dreamed that she would see SNU women in generations to come win national champions many times over. With one of the first doctorates in physical education at Indiana University, she came back to her alma mater to build what was then the Department of Physical Education and Recreation, now KSM.
She coached basketball and volleyball for women while expanding opportunities for students in other sports such as kayaking, canoeing, sailing, and tennis. In fact she can still play a mean game of tennis if you care to challenge her. After all, she does hold the title of Senior Women’s Tennis Champion. She excels in handball too and was a coach for the Olympic Handball Team.
Even stronger than her love for sport is her love for God and her service to him. She has held many Christian camps for children in her own park-like back yard and is a dedicated worker in her church. SNU women athletes today owe a tremendous debt to this faithful pioneer because of her contributions to so many facets of SNU’s athletic programs. As she has often said, “This is where my heart is.”
