Completed Event: Baseball versus Louisiana on April 2, 2026 , Loss , 4, to, 5
BASE
Final
James Madison
4
vs Louisiana
5
James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Remembering Women’s Athletics Legend Dr. Lee Morrison
5/12/2015 8:00:00 AM | Field Hockey, Administration
"She is women's athletics at JMU, through its infancy and into high-level competition."
Those words from longtime James Madison women's basketball Head Coach and Senior Woman's Administrator Shelia Moorman speak highly of the legacy left by Dr. Lonnie Leotus "Lee" Morrison. The innovative, influential and inspirational leader in women's athletics passed away on May 4 at Harrisonburg's Sunnyside Retirement Community, leaving a legacy that is felt today by nearly every female athlete at JMU and even nationwide.
"She laid the foundation for the experiences that we're having today," two-time JMU field hockey coach Christy Morgan said. "People forget that. People just think about what they have now, but it's really important for me and for my players to understand why they are getting the opportunities they have now. She laid the groundwork for what we're doing right now."
A pioneer in the women's athletics movement, Dr. Morrison arrived at JMU, then Madison College, in 1954 and immediately transformed Harrisonburg's women's college into a place that valued physical education and physical activity for young women. She taught courses related to physical education, measurement and evaluation, coached women's basketball for a few years and field hockey for 17 seasons and led JMU's competitive women's sports program, rising to the level of associate athletic director. She fulfilled that administrative role until 1989.
"She was my partner in leading the athletic program here," former JMU Director of Athletics Dean Ehlers said. "She had built a very strong women's program, and I always said that when I came here to head up the men's program, that I would learn from her. She was a real leader. I tried to emulate what she did in the women's program."
In addition to her involvement in varsity athletics, Dr. Morrison promoted physical activity and involvement for women of all abilities and in all stages of life. She was quoted by JMU's Morrison-Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls & Women as saying, "My message to girls and women is this: Include some physical activity in your lifestyle as young as you can and find groups (co-ed and female) for participation. And if you don't know the sport or skill, don't be bashful. More than likely the others are also. Be brave."
Dr. Ronald E. Carrier was President during much of Dr. Morrison's tenure at JMU. He said, "Dr Morrison was a frontier leader in sports and especially a great leader and contributor to what is now the women's intercollegiate athletic programs. And she did it unlike most of the athletic leaders today. She did it as a professional teacher, an administrator and a devoted person to opportunities for all students.
An influential figure herself in women's athletics at JMU, Moorman was hired by Morrison as women's basketball coach in 1982. That started a 15-year run for Moorman as hoops coach, with half of that tenure spent under the administrative tutelage of Morrison. Moorman added, "For me personally, I'll be forever grateful for the opportunities she provided me and for her guidance and mentorship. She was one of the founding mothers of the AIAW and served on so many high-level committees that provided growth to women's sports in athletics of all ages. I'm sad to see her go but am really grateful that she was a part of my life."
Her coaching and administrative roles in competitive athletics at then Madison College blossomed into key roles at the national level during the women's sports movement of the 1960s and 1970s. She was a founding member and first president of the Virginia Federation for Intercollegiate Sports for College Women. That organization grew further into the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), which provided nationally competitive opportunities for women at a time when the NCAA did not. Morrison eventually served as president of the AIAW as well.
Ehlers said, "In those early days when the AIAW was formed and started competition, she was out front and was a leader. We got the AIAW national tournament here. She was a real leader of women's athletics. I don't know if the young ladies who are participating today realize what a role she played in leading women into competition at the national level."
Morrison's national influence gained more momentum when she was invited to be part of a committee in Washington, D.C. that eventually led to Title IX, further advancing opportunities for women in athletics as a "founding mother" of Title IX. She served on the U.S. Olympic Committee; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference on Physical Education and Sport in Paris; the first Pan American Congress for Women in Sports in Venequela; was first president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and was influential in the development of the Women's Sports Foundation.
"She was a leader in the Title IX efforts and successes," Carrier said. "It was a great privilege for me to have her as a colleague. Not only will JMU's athletic program reflect the philosophy of Lee Morrison, but the national program for women's athletics in college also reflects the great devotion that Dr. Lee Morrison felt for college sports."
For her achievements on behalf of women's athletics at JMU, nationwide and globally, Morrison was inducted into the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1985, she was among four women invited to attend "A Celebration of Women's Sports," an awards program sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation. Among numerous other awards and recognitions, Dr. Morrison was honored as a "JMU Be the Change" honoree, an Honor Fellow from the NAGWS and received an honorary doctorate of humanties from JMU in 1990 as the featured commencement speaker, one year after her retirement following 35 years of service to the university.
Morrison remained an ardent supporter of the university and its varsity sports programs into her late years. Moorman said, "As recently as a year or so ago you could see her at basketball games and at field hockey games."
Morgan wanted to ensure that her student-athletes were aware of Morrison's legacy and her impact on shaping the opportunities that they enjoy today. She said, "We went as a team to visit her at Sunnyside right after our season. It was wonderful to create that connection for our players and for Dr. Morrison. There were moments when she would laugh and be as present as she could be. We gave her a sweatshirt and a few things so that she could connect us with JMU hockey. The student-athletes got to see the face of a woman who changed things for females in athletics. I wanted them to feel that and to show her the respect that she deserves and they did."
Current JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne also recognizes the impact still felt today by Madison's female athletes. He said, "We lost one of our iconic leaders and true champions for women's sports with the passing of Dr. Lee Morrison. Dr. Morrison's commitment to education and fostering opportunities for young women in sport helped to create a culture of inclusivity and equity for female student-athletes across the nation. Her role on the national stage led to the establishment of legislation and governing policies further promoting women in sport at the collegiate and Olympic levels. The lives she touched at JMU are a testament to her dedication and commitment to the total well-being of student-athletes. We will fondly remember Dr. Morrison and strive to continuously support the foundation she built in our program going forward."
Part of that foundation will live on with the establishment 10 years ago of the Morrison-Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls & Women. Housed in JMU's Godwin Hall, the center's vision is simply that "all women enjoy, lead and promote active and healthy lifestyles" with a mission that aims "to honor the legacies of Drs. Morrison and Bruce, we are dedicated to enhancing the well-being of girls and women through the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle. This endeavor is achieved by engaging students and faculty in impact-driven scholarly pursuits and outreach programming."
Dr. Morrison's fellow namesake in the Morrison-Bruce Center, Dr. Pat Bruce, also passed away within days of Morrison on May 7 at Sunnyside. Dr. Bruce arrived at Madison in 1961 and spent 28 years as a professor of physical and health education until her retirement in 1989. She taught courses in swimming, sport psychology, sociology and motor learning and was an influential figure among the JMU faculty as well as among regional and national organizations dedicated to physical education and recreation.
Dr. Lee Morrison was born in Savannah, Ga. in 1926. She graduated from Georgia State College for Women in 1948 before then earning a master's degree from George Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University, and a doctorate from Indiana University in 1962. She taught briefly at Lander College in South Carolina before her arrival at Madison in 1954, intrigued by some of the opportunities available already to women in athletics in Virginia unlike in her previous time spent in Georgia and South Carolina.
Those words from longtime James Madison women's basketball Head Coach and Senior Woman's Administrator Shelia Moorman speak highly of the legacy left by Dr. Lonnie Leotus "Lee" Morrison. The innovative, influential and inspirational leader in women's athletics passed away on May 4 at Harrisonburg's Sunnyside Retirement Community, leaving a legacy that is felt today by nearly every female athlete at JMU and even nationwide.
"She laid the foundation for the experiences that we're having today," two-time JMU field hockey coach Christy Morgan said. "People forget that. People just think about what they have now, but it's really important for me and for my players to understand why they are getting the opportunities they have now. She laid the groundwork for what we're doing right now."
A pioneer in the women's athletics movement, Dr. Morrison arrived at JMU, then Madison College, in 1954 and immediately transformed Harrisonburg's women's college into a place that valued physical education and physical activity for young women. She taught courses related to physical education, measurement and evaluation, coached women's basketball for a few years and field hockey for 17 seasons and led JMU's competitive women's sports program, rising to the level of associate athletic director. She fulfilled that administrative role until 1989.
"She was my partner in leading the athletic program here," former JMU Director of Athletics Dean Ehlers said. "She had built a very strong women's program, and I always said that when I came here to head up the men's program, that I would learn from her. She was a real leader. I tried to emulate what she did in the women's program."
In addition to her involvement in varsity athletics, Dr. Morrison promoted physical activity and involvement for women of all abilities and in all stages of life. She was quoted by JMU's Morrison-Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls & Women as saying, "My message to girls and women is this: Include some physical activity in your lifestyle as young as you can and find groups (co-ed and female) for participation. And if you don't know the sport or skill, don't be bashful. More than likely the others are also. Be brave."
Dr. Ronald E. Carrier was President during much of Dr. Morrison's tenure at JMU. He said, "Dr Morrison was a frontier leader in sports and especially a great leader and contributor to what is now the women's intercollegiate athletic programs. And she did it unlike most of the athletic leaders today. She did it as a professional teacher, an administrator and a devoted person to opportunities for all students.
An influential figure herself in women's athletics at JMU, Moorman was hired by Morrison as women's basketball coach in 1982. That started a 15-year run for Moorman as hoops coach, with half of that tenure spent under the administrative tutelage of Morrison. Moorman added, "For me personally, I'll be forever grateful for the opportunities she provided me and for her guidance and mentorship. She was one of the founding mothers of the AIAW and served on so many high-level committees that provided growth to women's sports in athletics of all ages. I'm sad to see her go but am really grateful that she was a part of my life."
Her coaching and administrative roles in competitive athletics at then Madison College blossomed into key roles at the national level during the women's sports movement of the 1960s and 1970s. She was a founding member and first president of the Virginia Federation for Intercollegiate Sports for College Women. That organization grew further into the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), which provided nationally competitive opportunities for women at a time when the NCAA did not. Morrison eventually served as president of the AIAW as well.
Ehlers said, "In those early days when the AIAW was formed and started competition, she was out front and was a leader. We got the AIAW national tournament here. She was a real leader of women's athletics. I don't know if the young ladies who are participating today realize what a role she played in leading women into competition at the national level."
Morrison's national influence gained more momentum when she was invited to be part of a committee in Washington, D.C. that eventually led to Title IX, further advancing opportunities for women in athletics as a "founding mother" of Title IX. She served on the U.S. Olympic Committee; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference on Physical Education and Sport in Paris; the first Pan American Congress for Women in Sports in Venequela; was first president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) and was influential in the development of the Women's Sports Foundation.
"She was a leader in the Title IX efforts and successes," Carrier said. "It was a great privilege for me to have her as a colleague. Not only will JMU's athletic program reflect the philosophy of Lee Morrison, but the national program for women's athletics in college also reflects the great devotion that Dr. Lee Morrison felt for college sports."
For her achievements on behalf of women's athletics at JMU, nationwide and globally, Morrison was inducted into the JMU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1985, she was among four women invited to attend "A Celebration of Women's Sports," an awards program sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation. Among numerous other awards and recognitions, Dr. Morrison was honored as a "JMU Be the Change" honoree, an Honor Fellow from the NAGWS and received an honorary doctorate of humanties from JMU in 1990 as the featured commencement speaker, one year after her retirement following 35 years of service to the university.
Morrison remained an ardent supporter of the university and its varsity sports programs into her late years. Moorman said, "As recently as a year or so ago you could see her at basketball games and at field hockey games."
Morgan wanted to ensure that her student-athletes were aware of Morrison's legacy and her impact on shaping the opportunities that they enjoy today. She said, "We went as a team to visit her at Sunnyside right after our season. It was wonderful to create that connection for our players and for Dr. Morrison. There were moments when she would laugh and be as present as she could be. We gave her a sweatshirt and a few things so that she could connect us with JMU hockey. The student-athletes got to see the face of a woman who changed things for females in athletics. I wanted them to feel that and to show her the respect that she deserves and they did."
Current JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne also recognizes the impact still felt today by Madison's female athletes. He said, "We lost one of our iconic leaders and true champions for women's sports with the passing of Dr. Lee Morrison. Dr. Morrison's commitment to education and fostering opportunities for young women in sport helped to create a culture of inclusivity and equity for female student-athletes across the nation. Her role on the national stage led to the establishment of legislation and governing policies further promoting women in sport at the collegiate and Olympic levels. The lives she touched at JMU are a testament to her dedication and commitment to the total well-being of student-athletes. We will fondly remember Dr. Morrison and strive to continuously support the foundation she built in our program going forward."
Part of that foundation will live on with the establishment 10 years ago of the Morrison-Bruce Center for the Promotion of Physical Activity for Girls & Women. Housed in JMU's Godwin Hall, the center's vision is simply that "all women enjoy, lead and promote active and healthy lifestyles" with a mission that aims "to honor the legacies of Drs. Morrison and Bruce, we are dedicated to enhancing the well-being of girls and women through the promotion of an active and healthy lifestyle. This endeavor is achieved by engaging students and faculty in impact-driven scholarly pursuits and outreach programming."
Dr. Morrison's fellow namesake in the Morrison-Bruce Center, Dr. Pat Bruce, also passed away within days of Morrison on May 7 at Sunnyside. Dr. Bruce arrived at Madison in 1961 and spent 28 years as a professor of physical and health education until her retirement in 1989. She taught courses in swimming, sport psychology, sociology and motor learning and was an influential figure among the JMU faculty as well as among regional and national organizations dedicated to physical education and recreation.
Dr. Lee Morrison was born in Savannah, Ga. in 1926. She graduated from Georgia State College for Women in 1948 before then earning a master's degree from George Peabody College, now part of Vanderbilt University, and a doctorate from Indiana University in 1962. She taught briefly at Lander College in South Carolina before her arrival at Madison in 1954, intrigued by some of the opportunities available already to women in athletics in Virginia unlike in her previous time spent in Georgia and South Carolina.
JMU Women's Basketball | Dukes Capture 2026 SBC Championship Title
Saturday, March 14
JMU Women's Basketball | SBC Tournament | Opening Hype
Wednesday, March 11
JMU Women's Basketball | SBC Tournament | South Alabama
Wednesday, March 11
JMU Football | No Regrets
Saturday, December 20
