TWU athletics keeps racking up the accolades. Most recently, the basketball team closed the 2023-24 season as the Lone Star Conference Regular Season Champions, the Lone Star Conference Tournament Champions, the South Central Region Champions and the National Runner-Up.
Early on, Agnes C. Talley, who graduated in 1945 with a degree in physical education from what was then the Texas State College for Women, recognized the importance of women’s athletics. After establishing the Agnes C. Talley Athletes Endowed Scholarship, she ensured generations of Pioneers would have the funding support to compete as well as inspire future women athletes to pursue their dreams.
The athletics program continues to grow with more than 200 student-athletes and nine teams ranging from artistic swimming to wrestling. Champions on and off the field, the department posted a GPA of 3.468 for fall 2023, continuing a streak of 83 consecutive semesters of a 3.0 GPA or higher. TWU also came in sixth out of 304 Division II schools for community service hours.
Athletics Director Sandee Mott says it well: “Our team of amazing coaches is training future leaders with a championship work ethic.”
Not only has Texas Woman’s athletics undergone a dramatic transformation in the past decade, women’s sports at the nation’s collegiate and professional levels are breaking barriers and stepping into the limelight, shattering attendance and viewership records as they go.
Recruiting the best and brightest student-athletes is a competitive sport in and of itself and often comes down to scholarship support. On average, 40% of TWU’s student-athletes are in need of financial support. Second-year kinesiology student and basketball champion Jada Celsur ’26 says, “I’m so blessed to receive this scholarship and promise to continue to put 100% into everything I do at TWU.” As a freshman, Celsur was a recipient of Oakley’s Newcomer of the Year and listed on the LSC All- Freshman Team.
Gymnast superstar Kaitlyn Hoiland ’25 can attest to the impact of Talley's scholarship: “I’m so grateful for this scholarship and to be a part of TWU’s amazing gymnastics program.”