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Photo by Peggy Brisbane Sports ��� cmuchippewas.com Katie Johns, a 5-year-old brain cancer patient, is an honorary member of the CMU basketball team, often being carried around McGuirk Arena or sitting on a player���s lap. When Katie joined the team It took a 5-year-old to really put things into perspective for the CMU women���s basketball team. Katie Johns, a brain cancer patient from Midland, Mich., has been welcomed as an honorary member of the team since last July. She was diagnosed with pilocytic astrocytoma after doctors found a golf-ball sized tumor on her brain stem. Johns cheers on the team, hands out water and dribbles on the court during timeouts. But her most important contribution, team members say, is her spirit. ���If you have a bad game, it���s so easy to lose perspective and think badly about yourself,��� says senior Jessica Schroll, who originally approached head coach Sue Guevara with the idea of bringing Katie to the team. ���But then you look down at the bench and you see this little girl whose hair is falling out because of her treatments and it makes you realize that things aren���t so bad. We use it as a springboard to see her enthusiasm, despite what she is going through, and it brings all our energy up.��� ��� Paying tribute to the trailblazers By John Regenfuss As the nation celebrates the 40th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX ��� the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education �����the CMU athletics department is recognizing a handful of women who have left a mark on the university. ���Central Michigan was really in the forefront of women���s sports in the whole state of Michigan. We gave scholarships to women athletes before any other school in the state did,��� says Marcy Weston, executive associate athletics director. ���We had really great leadership that was committed to providing women opportunities.��� These women have used their education in the classroom and athletics to go on to great things in their professional worlds. Some of these former athletes are being featured on cmuchippewas.com. CMU adds two women���s sports On the heels of Title IX���s anniversary, the CMU Board of Trustees approved unanimously at its December meeting the addition of women���s golf and women���s lacrosse to CMU���s lineup of NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. The women���s golf team is scheduled to begin competition during the 201415 academic year, while the lacrosse program will start play in 2015-16. The addition of the programs will continue Central���s long-standing compliance with Title IX and will provide equitable athletics participation and education opportunities for both men and women. ���This is truly an exciting day for CMU and our athletics program as we continue to provide additional opportunities for young women to pursue their athletic and academic dreams,��� CMU Director of Athletics Dave Heeke says. ���These sports are great additions to our overall program and will attract outstanding student-athletes who will contribute to our championship culture.��� ��� centralight spring ���12 centralight fall ���13 31