Conqu’ring Heroes: Hall of Honor Inductee Williams-Hoak on Talk With Bo, Title IX

Conqu’ring Heroes: Hall of Honor Inductee Williams-Hoak on Talk With Bo, Title IX

By Mishal Charania

Debbie Williams-Hoak is an athlete through and through. She has competed nationally and internationally in bowling, golf, tennis, track and field, softball and basketball. Williams-Hoak came to the University of Michigan on a basketball and track and field scholarship and ended up being a four-time Big Ten javelin champion. This year, she was inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor. In truth, Michigan was not her dream school, but one conversation changed everything.

Williams-Hoak joined the Conqu’ring Heroes Podcast this week to talk about the conversation that changed her path, Title IX and giving back to others.

“I got to sit down with Bo Schembechler for about 15 minutes as an 18-year-old female athlete, and for anybody that knows or has had the opportunity to talk to him, you know after 15 minutes of talking to Bo the only place in the world to go is the University of Michigan,” she said. “And so the next day I announced that I was going to attend the University of Michigan.”

When she arrived at Michigan, Title IX had barely begun and female athletes faced many challenges with uniforms, practice facilities, resources offered to athletes and more.

“Women athletes back in the late 70’s were fighting for equality and trying to get things to happen,” said Williams-Hoak. “It was tough, but we were so proud to be Michigan athletes and we had such a great camaraderie among our teammates.”

Now as a coach, she works to advocate for female athletes in any way possible. She is the director of the Brookside Golf Academy and the Lead Instructor for the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf Program of Detroit but also has worked as an assistant track and field and strengthening and conditioning coach for U-M.

“As far as we’ve come as female athletes, there’s still a long way to go,” said Williams-Hoak. “We have to continue to strive for us to get on an equal playing field.

“There’s going to be those moments of tears where you question what you have decided to do, but if it’s a passion of yours and if it’s something that you really love, you’re going to persevere through those times, you’re going to get right back up and you’re going to start working harder,” said Williams-Hoak. “As coaches, we always say that the number one ingredient in success is failure so…