09 autumn reporter 1-20 - Franklin College

Franklin College coach, athlete honored together
By Rick Morwick
Johnson County Daily Journal staff writer
Reprinted with permission.
For a host of reasons, Ruth (Doub)
Callon ’52 is a legendary figure at Franklin
College. A retired coach and professor,
she essentially created the women’s
athletics program at the school and
devoted most of her adult life to fostering
statewide playing and teaching opportunities
for female athletes.
But of all her achievements at Franklin,
one stands out for its uniqueness.
In 1976, she successfully persuaded
the state’s first Miss Basketball, Judi
Warren ’80, to continue her playing
career at Franklin College.
Warren played four standout seasons
for the Grizzlies before embarking on a
successful high school coaching career
that included guiding Carmel to a runnerup
finish in the 1995 state finals.
Thirty-five years later, Callon and
Warren, who both are members of the
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, remain
close friends.
And fittingly, they are among the
women honored on July 30 during the
Indiana Fever’s “Inspiring Women Night.”
During the Fever’s game against the
Connecticut Sun, 15 female sports and
community leaders from central Indiana
were recognized in a halftime presentation.
Legendary University of Tennessee
women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt
was the guest speaker.
Callon, 79, relished the opportunity to
share the moment with her former star
player.
“I’m proud and humbled to be recognized
with Judi,” said Callon, a lifelong
Whiteland resident. “She’s done such an
excellent job being the first Miss
Basketball.
“She had a genuine care and respect for
the girls she coached. Anything she does,
she does to the best of her ability.”
Warren, 51, was equally delighted to
share the halftime spotlight with Callon,
who coached the Grizzlies from 1962–83.
“Ruth Callon is the reason I went
there,” said Warren, who was named
Miss Basketball and the state’s first female
Mental Attitude Award winner after
leading Warsaw to the state championship
in the inaugural year of the IHSAA girls
basketball tournament.
Despite her success on the court,
Warren was ready to hang up her hightops
and pursue a degree in education at
Ball State.
But her plans changed after a series
of conversations with Callon.
In 1976, only two Indiana colleges
offered scholarships for women’s basketball.
Indiana State was one of them.
Franklin College, an NAIA member at
the time, was the other.
“(Callon) was pretty persistent and
encouraged me to come down to
Franklin,” Warren said. “Once I did, I was
pretty much sold.”
Warren, a multisport athlete at Warsaw,
started four seasons on the Grizzlies’
basketball and field hockey teams.
After college, she embarked on a
20-year head coaching career that
included stops at South Dearborn
(1980–81), Maconaquah (1982–1988)
and Carmel (1988–2000).
Warren retired from coaching after
the 2000 season but still teaches
elementary physical education in the
Carmel school system.
“(Callon) was definitely an inspiration
to me for going into coaching,” Warren
said. “She’s very genuine and very
caring for anyone who needs a hand
for anything.
“She’s always there to help.”
Besides coaching and teaching at
Franklin, Callon was a pioneer in the
overall advancement of girls and women’s
sports in Indiana.
When she began coaching and teaching
at the college in 1962, women’s athletics
were highly unorganized and lacked a
governing body.
Callon changed that by leading a
committee that formed the Indiana
Collegiate Women’s Sports Organization.
Besides providing women’s college
teams with their own league, the
sports
organization drafted uniform rules and
eligibility for member schools.
In addition, Callon was one of the first
in Indiana to establish skills camps and
summer basketball camps for high school
junior and senior girls. In 1973, she served
on the IHSAA’s first girls advisory board,
which laid the groundwork for the creation
of the girls state tournament series.
Despite her tireless efforts, Callon insists
the credit for leveling the playing field for
females belongs to countless individuals
whose names won’t be mentioned during
tonight’s halftime ceremony.
“There are a lot of women who did as
much or more than I did,” said Callon,
who enjoys gardening and is active in her
church. “God worked things out.
“Now the girls can play and play under
the right conditions with good officiating.
I never in my wildest dreams thought that
women would play professionally.”
Judi Warren ’80 and Ruth (Doub) Callon ’52
stand on the basketball court to be recognized during
the Indiana Fever’s “Inspiring Women Night.”
WWW.FRANKLINCOLLEGE.EDU AUTUMN 2009 19
PHOTO BY FRANK MCGRATH, INDIANA FEVER