Salute to Women 2021: Meet the Honorees - Tracy Dodds

Often faced with sexism and hostility, Tracy Dodds showed great wit, humor and gumption in her career as a sports journalist. As one of the first women to cover sports for a major publication, The Milwaukee Journal, Dodds has helped pave the way for women in her field for 34 years.She has covered a variety of high-profile events: NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments, the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl; the Milwaukee Bucks and the NBA Finals; the Los Angeles Kings and the NHL finals; 12 straight Indy 500s; three of Muhammad Ali's title fights; NCAA swimming and diving championships, World Championships and Olympic games.In 2014, Dodds became the first woman inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame and was the first woman elected president of the National Associated Press Sports Editors.Born and raised in Lafayette, Dodds graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School and Indiana University. After her successful career in journalism, Dodds returned home to Lafayette in 2006 where she joined the staff of YWCA Greater Lafayette. She provided operational support and was director of grants, securing hundreds of thousands of dollars. After retiring from the YWCA in 2020, former UCLA Basketball star and coach Larry Farmer chose Dodds to write his biography. The book will be published this year.Volunteering has always been an important part of Dodd's life. The organizations she has served include the Tippecanoe Historical Society, the Kiwanis Club and the IU Health Arnett Patient Experience Advisory Panel.More Information