| Donna Doyle Smith |
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Donna Doyle Smith was a leader on and off the playing fields and courts starring in three sports as a student. She became her college's first woman physical education graduate and later helped establish the first scholarship fund for women athletes at Old Dominion University,
A star on campus in basketball, field hockey, and tennis, the dean's list student became the namesake for the first athletic scholarship fund for women at ODU in 1975. She also served as director of testing for the Norfolk public school system from1967 until her death in 1977.
Named the most outstanding female athlete at the Norfolk Division of William and Mary (now ODU) in 1955, she became this school's first woman physical educator graduate in 1958.
Off-campus exploits in basketball and golf reached unusual heights. She averaged 30 points for 10 years while playing with the Snow White AAU women's team of Norfolk in state and national competition. A scratch golfer, she turned down an offer from a sporting goods firm to sponsor her on the professional golfing circuit, preferring instead to pursue a teaching career.
She led the Snow White to three national tournaments and was named to the all-star team of the World Tournament of Women's Basketball Association in 1962. She earned berths on the all-star team of the state AAU tournament 1954-1960 and was MVP in the 1954 tournament. Donna was the Virginia women's AAU free throw champion in 1953 and 1954.
One year after taking up golf, Donna reached the championship flight of the state women's amateur golf tournament. She set the course record at Princess Anne Country Club and earned two club championships.
The Donna Doyle Athletic Scholarship Fund gives assistance to female athletes in all women's sports at the university. When the scholarship fund was given her name, Donna said, "I shall live forever because God has chosen my life to be used as a stepping stone for other young women who have been given strong bodies and minds."
