Where are They Now: Julie Connor

Eight years ago, Julie Connor was on top of the basketball world. Her journey into obscurity is strange and puzzling, and filled with the question that plagues many former athletes: What If?

Her journey began in 1995 after transferring to Deering High, a school that famously refused to oblige to the regulations set by Title IX. Connor, not letting anyone tell her what she can and can’t do, defied convention and went out for the boy’s team. She ended up not only making the team, but starring for the boy’s varsity Tornadoes for an unheard of six years. Connor was the star, captain, and one constant on a team plagued by countless transfers in and out of the program.

In 2000, Julie Connor was the name on the top every major women’s college program’s recruiting list. She turned down an offer from perennial powerhouse UConn to join her ex-coach Bill Fuller at Southern Florida University.

In Connor’s first year at SFU, she spurned the women’s program, and instead attempted to land a spot on the men’s roster, a move that left many scratching their heads.

“Who are we to tell Julie what she can and can’t do?” said coach Bill Fuller.

Unfortunately for Connor, the physicality of Division 1 men’s basketball proved too much for her to handle, and she was injured before the first week of practice ended.

She decided that she would join the women’s team for her sophomore season, but first she would try to prove once and for all that the girls can hang with the guys.

Connor bravely paraded to the practice gridiron in an attempt to become the first woman to ever walk-on and make it to the SFU football program. Again, the physical nature of the game, along with the fact that she had never before played football in her life lead to Connor sustaining a devastating knee injury, just three minutes into her first practice.

“Nobody was going to tell me what I can and can’t do,” Connor said.

Critics of Julie Connor say even if she never would have been injured, chances are she would have made it to be a star in the world of women’s hoops were slim. They point to the fact that in high school, she played with 8 foot rims, and on a ridiculously short court to argue that her skills were wildly overrated.

Connor left SFU after her sophomore year and is now coaching a girl’s 8th grade CYO team. The team has never won a game due to her scheduling all her games against boys’ teams.

“Nobody is going to tell those girls what they can and can’t do,” Connor said.