Trailblazer: How Alice Sullivan Paved the Way for Girls' Sports in Rhode Island

I'm from the small state of Rhode Island. In high school, we didn't have girls' sports. We had PE teachers who agreed to do something after school and called other schools to set up games. I often wondered why there was never any real competition for girls. It wasn't until college that I actually got to play on a women's team. But even then, it still wasn't like the men's teams.

Once I graduated, I wanted to coach more than anything else. However, I wanted to coach an organized and competitive team like the one I experienced at university. Luckily, Title IX was enacted in 1972. Girls' sports in Rhode Island didn't really begin until the early 1970s. Basketball was the main focus at the time. One standout leader in pushing for girls' sports in Rhode Island was Alice Sullivan.

Alice was a former PE teacher and high school administrator in East Providence, Rhode Island. Alice, along with a small group of like-minded women (Cindy Neal also comes to mind, but there were others as well), kept pushing, and finally, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) agreed to allow girls' basketball into the league. Alice remained a great advocate for all girls and girls' sports in Rhode Island as the movement progressed.

I got a chance to coach while I was a teacher at Pilgrim High School. I first coached basketball, and soon after, I added field hockey, volleyball, and softball—my first real love.

Fast-forward a few years—Alice and I became really good friends and colleagues in our push for women's sports in Rhode Island. I guess one could say she was more of a mentor to me. She pushed me to become an administrator, which I did.

I attended my first RIIL meeting with her in Seekonk, Massachusetts. When we walked in, it was all men. As Alice walked me through the process of understanding what was going on, I knew I was on the right path. When we left, I told Alice I would one day sit on this committee.

She relentlessly pushed this committee to expand girls' sports. Her efforts were often challenged because many people at the time believed that girls couldn't play at the competitive level she advocated.

Fast forward a few more years, and Alice asked me to become the Director of Slow Pitch Softball. I gladly accepted this position. The year was 1993. By then, we had many more competitive girls' sports in Rhode Island, primarily thanks to Alice and her organization and mentorship of several other women who shared her passion. Alice spent hours of her free time working with and helping coaches and referees and meeting with other women organizing various leagues. I learned how passionate she was as she mentored me through my personal direction.

I was the softball director until 2025, moving from slow pitch to fast pitch. I thank Alice Sullivan for her leadership and guidance and all the others who continued to foster girls' and women's sports locally, around the state, and beyond. Rhode Island has come a long way, and I can say with confidence that Alice Sullivan made it all happen.

So many years later, my path brought me back to that first experience of a state-level sports body and led me to serve on the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. With all the memories of that era of the birth of women's sports in Rhode Island, I can see the way paved for all the girls whose lives were forever altered. For me and them, I want to express my gratitude and thanks.

Thank you, Alice, from all of us girls. We love you!

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Author, Betty Marquis

Trailblazer in Girls' Sports

Teacher, Coach, Mentor

Warwick, RI