Lakeland University Athletics will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Title IX and the contributions of former Lakeland coach and athletic director Jane Bouche in February.

Bouche, a Hall of Fame women's basketball and softball coach at Lakeland, will serve as an honorary coach and be introduced before the Lakeland women's basketball team plays Benedictine on Saturday, February 11, at 4:15 p.m.

It will also be Lakeland's Think Pink game, which is dedicated to breast cancer awareness efforts.

Additionally, Lakeland will recognize the record-setting basketball career of 2002 graduate Jill (Dewane) Banowetz by retiring her number 34 during a halftime ceremony.

Bouche, who made a name for herself as a successful high school coach and administrator in Green Bay, joined Lakeland's athletic staff in 1989, and in five seasons as head women's basketball coach and eight seasons as head softball coach she helped position Lakeland's programs among the best in the region.

The softball program won six conference regular-season or tournament championships in her eight seasons, and she is tied for the most wins by a coach in Lakeland softball history.

Her basketball teams were recognized nationally for their commitment to defense and the Muskies were often ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring defense.

She was inducted into the Lakeland Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 for her coaching accomplishments.

Bouche was named Lakeland's athletic director in 1993 and led some of the most significant changes in the athletic department's history.

In 1997, Bouche helped guide the transition Lakeland from being a longtime member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to a Division III member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). In 2005, Lakeland opened a dramatic expansion of the Todd Wehr Athletic Center, including a new gymnasium and fitness center. In 2006, Lakeland became a charter member of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Muskies won conference titles and made national tournament appearances in nearly every sport during her tenure.

Bouche transitioned from athletics to an administrative role with Lakeland's evening and online courses in 2012, and today she serves LU as senior director of recruitment & marketing for the Kellett School of Undergraduate & Graduate Studies.

Lakeland will pay tribute to a half century of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

Facts about Title IX will be shared throughout the game.