 Ryan's Lady Gators were elevated to varsity status in 1972 with the expansion of the Gators women's sports program under former University of Florida athletic director Ray Graves and associate athletic director Ruth Alexander.The University of Florida embraced the challenge of creating a nationally recognized women's sports program, including women's golf, in order to comply with Title IX's federally mandated equal opportunities for women in college sports.As one of the first Florida Gators women's sports teams, the Lady Gators golfers enjoyed almost immediate success in Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) competition.