Distinguished alumna opens doors for female athletes

Before Title IX required school districts to treat boys and girls equally, MSUM Distinguished Alumna Rita Rislund was already paving the way for young female athletes.

Rislund's passion for sports started young. Even as a high school student, more than 10 years before Title IX passed, she was strongly drawn to a career in physical education. She was able to work under her PE teacher as a student aide, while still in high school. From that moment, she knew her future was in physical education.

"It was headfirst, right in. I never doubted the decision," she says.

In 1962, Rislund started her college education at Moorhead State College, now known as MSU Moorhead. Her time at MSUM and her student teaching experience at Fargo North High School would inspire the rest of her career.

"The support the department gave was absolute; if you had a question, they'd answer it. They were visionary," she says.

BS in Physical Education

With the help of the physical education department and her classmates, Rislund created a regional athletic conference, allowing women to participate in track, volleyball, and basketball. She, along with others in her department, earned national certificates to officiate volleyball when they noticed volleyball was struggling to recruit referees.

As a student teacher, she started a track program for the girls at Fargo North. In the first year, the team grew to a roster of 25 girls. There was no funding, no uniforms, and no Title IX. Rislund, among other female athletes, had a dream of providing the same opportunities for young girls as young boys.

"I was going into physical education because I felt that was my best chance to bring opportunities to female athletes," she says.

She brought that into her career at Princeton High School in Princeton, MN, where she worked for 34 years. Once again, she found herself in a place to bring sports to young women, despite the lack of budget. With four other PE teachers in the area, she formed another athletic conference. Their uniform numbers were made of masking tape and markers, but that didn't stop the athletes from competing in volleyball, basketball, and track.

Years later, Rislund has seen women's sports evolve into something great. She remains a Title IX advocate to this day and has collected many awards, recognitions, and two Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) Hall of Fame inductions. Even with all these accolades, being recognized by MSUM's Foundation as a Distinguished Alumna has blown her away.

"I've had some other recognitions, but this - when you get recognized by your peers at the school that you did your undergraduate, it is absolutely amazing," she says.

The Distinguished Alumni awards recognize Dragons who have achieved exceptional success and made a lasting impact in their chosen field throughout their careers. These outstanding alumni have demonstrated remarkable achievements, leadership, and contributions.

It goes without saying that Rislund's career has been nothing short of spectacular. If you ask her why, she'll tell you it's because she loves what she does, and she'll continue doing it as long as she can. Her advice for current students reflects just that: "find your passion and go all in."