There are many special women in the world of collegiate athletics whose dedication help make our world go.

They are coaches, administrators, academic counselors and staff members in a variety of roles. Athletics could not function without them. They are all Wonder Women to those of us in this business.

UW's athletics department is blessed with many. One, in particular, is an extra special wonder woman. She performs a critical role, a role of which few outside the world of athletics, have any knowledge.

All collegiate athletic departments have Faculty-Athletic Representatives (FARs). We at Wyoming really appreciate ours...Alyson Hagy.

Alyson is quite a lady. She is Wyoming's FAR--I'll explain what that entails in a moment.

Hagy also is a professor of Creative Writing within UW's English Department.

She is a tennis enthusiast who plays nearly every day.

She also finds time for her avocation, writing novels. Alyson is author of eight fictional works, including four compilations of short stories and four novels.

She also has raised a family with her husband, Bob, while finding time to travel.

She's pretty special.

The Faculty-Athletic Representative is important to UW's athletics department as it is to all athletics departments. The position's primary purpose is to serve as a liaison between UW's faculty and the athletics department, and includes chairing the Athletic Planning Committee (APC), which consists of faculty and staff.

"I look at it as educating our faculty on what's going on within the athletics department," Hagy says. "By and large, the faculty on our campus is very supportive of athletics. Like anything, this role is one of communication, communication with faculty members, keeping them up to speed on athletics.

"I believe the APC is very important," she continues, "as an advisory group. We concentrate on four areas, student-athlete well-being, academic integrity, finances, and equity, diversity and inclusion." 

Hagy also meets with the faculty-senate once a year as well as the UW Trustees. "I have really enjoyed representing athletics to the faculty on campus," she says. "Because of that, I make sure I'm on top of what's happening in and around the department. The well-being of our student-athletes is especially important to me."

Janet Constantinides, a lovely woman who is Professor Emerita in the English Department, preceded Hagy as the FAR. Janet was the chair of the department when Hagy came to Wyoming from the University of Michigan.

"I had no idea what a FAR was, let alone what the position was all about," Hagy admits. "Janet was preparing to retire, and knew I had an interest in athletics, so she visited with me about the position, its responsibilities, and the time commitment. I became very interested, because of my love for athletics, and because it sounded like something in which I could make a difference."

The search for Constantinides' replacement drew a huge pool of applicants. The search committee chose Hagy.

"I was extremely honored," Alyson says, "but then came the scary part.  Believe me, the learning curve was deep for a faculty member. Athletics is such a different world from what we professors know. It didn't take me long to really understand what special gifts and talents student-athletes have. To compete in their respective sports at such a high level, yet accomplish great things in the classroom is not easy. Their discipline is extraordinary. They are a pretty special group of people."

Raised in Virginia, Hagy earned her undergraduate degree from Williams College a private liberal arts school in Williamstown, Mass. I researched the school, and it has been the number-one-ranked liberal arts university in the country for 15 consecutive years! The school is named for its founder Ephraim Williams who was a colonist killed during the French and Indian war in 1755. The school's nickname is the Ephs (rhymes with Chiefs), and its mascot is a Purple Cow, named after a humor magazine back in the early 1900's. It has an amazing alumni base of billionaires, CEO's and governors. Listed among the alums is George Steinbrenner, who of course owned the Yankees. Hagy went to an interesting place.

She earned her Master's of Fine Arts, Creative Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. She came to Wyoming from there in 1996 to teach in the English Department.

Hagy is very easy to work with, according to Matt Whisenant, Deputy Director of Athletics, who works closely with her. "Alyson has a good understanding of athletics and faculty," Whisenant says. "When we have concerns—the academic calendar for example—we go to Alyson, and she takes our concerns to the other side of campus. We really enjoy working with her, and what I really appreciate about her is that she deeply cares about our student-athletes." 

In her 12 years as FAR, Hagy has witnessed a lot of change. She lists the Academic Progress Rate (APR) and the increased focus on the well-being of student-athlete as two biggest changes she has experienced.

"During my time, I also think coaches have gotten better at recruiting for academic success. One would hope that coaches and institutions can keep their souls in this regard.

"UW is a challenging place academically," she continues. "But student-athletes have to realize that if they apply themselves, they will reach their ultimate goal of a degree. I'm proud to be involved with these young people. We are educating a wide-range of individuals from diverse backgrounds.

"Our faculty wants accountability. They expect the student-athletes to attend class, apply themselves, and do the best they can. I believe most of our student-athletes get that. They are accountable, and they understand that it is a privilege to earn a scholarships while competing in the sport they love.

"These young people, and the support I see from the State of Wyoming is why I'm still here. That's remarkable. It's terrific to interact with these young men and women."

What I find most fascinating about Alyson, however, is her avocation as an author.

She has written a total of eight books, four novels and four collections of short stories.

"I enjoy everything about it," she says. "I enjoy the research, the development of characters, and certainly the writing itself."

Morning is her best time to write. That's her time. "That's when I think the best, and that's when it's easiest for me to devote time to my writing."

Like many authors she begins her books with the characters. Those characters are composites of people she knows or has known, bits and pieces from many people.

Three of her books were set in Wyoming. "I lived here a number of years before I felt comfortable enough to accurately portray this state and its people," Alyson says.  "Wyoming is a fascinating, complicated place. I listened and learned. The characters mesh with the landscape. I really enjoyed the research for those books.

Her highly-acclaimed latest work, 'Scribe', is a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. In it, Hagy returns to her roots, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. "It was driven by folklore," she says. "It also involves Appalachia and its culture after the Civil War. I grew up hearing ghost stories, and there are elements of that in this book."

Hagy says that she is "very private" while writing her books. "I am for sure until I've done as much as I can. Then I find a first reader. I'm very superstitious in that regard. I work on my own. Then I find a first-reader which is usually either my husband (Bob), son (Conner) or sister (Melchoka).

"The one thing I try to have when writing a book is that willingness to work harder to become better."

As private as she is about her writing, Alyson did go so far as to say another book is in the works. Wouldn't say what it was about, though.

We'll look forward to that!