NORFOLK, Va. – As part of the ongoing celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, NSU Athletics honored four pioneers in women's sports prior to the Battle of the Bay football game on Sept. 17.

Recognized were:

Quineshia "Hollywood" Leonard, a former N-S-U women's basketball student-athlete who just finished her rookie year playing women's tackle football for the Washington Prodigy in the Women's National Football Conference (WNFC). Hollywood received All-Pro accolades and was named 2022 Trench Player of the Year. She was also selected as 1 of 45 elite players to represent the U-S-A in the 2022 IFAF Women's World Championship, where she and her teammates brought home the gold!
 
Ms. Angela Freeman, NSU's first scholarship recipient in the sport of volleyball. A two-time All-CIAA first-team selection her junior and senior seasons, Freeman was also named Miss NSU in 1982 and was inducted into the NSU Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.  She went on to become an accomplished volleyball official in the Hampton Roads area and currently serves as the Owner Loyalty manager for Bannister Nissan.  
 
Dr. Javaune Adams-Gaston, the seventh President of Norfolk State University. She began her tenure in June of 2019. As President, she is committed to ensuring that Norfolk State University fulfills its mission as an HBCU for the modern world. Dr. J is currently the only HBCU representative serving on the NCAA Transformation Committee, which is charged with making recommendations to the NCAA board to ensure the NCAA more effectively meet the needs of current and future student-athletes. In 2022, she was named an ex-officio member of the NCAA Board of Governors.

Sonja Stills was named commissioner of the MEAC in 2022, becoming the first female commissioner in MEAC and HBCU Division I history. Stills formally served as the Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. With over 19 years of experience in assisting with articulating and developing a clear, strategic vision for the future of the conference, a 2021 MEAC 50th Anniversary Pioneers in Women's Sports Award recipient, Stills embodies all that is the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.