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Published June 27, 2009 10:12 pm - Leaving a lasting legacy Beard helped definite athletic program at Missouri Southern By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com Sallie Beard has seen Missouri Southern grow from its infant stages. A 1968 graduate of Joplin High School, she arrived on campus the first year the school changed from a junior college to a four-year school. “I don’t think I was any different from a lot of kids,” Beard said. “There were some other places that I considered, but this was new. My father (Gilbert Roper) was involved in establishing Missouri Southern and certainly was supportive of getting a four-year college to serve this immediate area. It seemed like kind of a natural.” After college graduation, she stayed on campus as first an instructor, then a coach, then women’s athletics director, then athletics director. She announced her plans to retire in March, and her final day on the job is Tuesday. “I can’t imagine having a more exciting, challenging and fulfilling career thn what I’ve had at Missouri Southern,” Beard said. “One of the most rewarding aspects of the job has been to watch young people flourish and expand their education beyond the classroom and through athletics. The strength of this department has always been our student-athletes and coaches, and they will continue to be the strength of Missouri Southern athletics.” Beard had no idea her Missouri Southern career would last 37 years. “And I really didn’t think I was going to go into athletics,” she said. “I thought I would be teaching. I feel like I got a great education, had great instructors, and then I was given the opportunity to work here by Dr. (Leon) Billingsly.” Not for men only Beard taught classes in Missouri Southern’s majors program for physical education, including gymnastics, swimming, badminton, some dance. She did not participate in sports in high school, and she didn’t in college because Missouri Southern didn’t field any women’s athletic teams. But in 1974, the scope of Missouri Southern athletics changed, and little did Beard know her life would become athletics. “I was approached by a group of girls who wanted to start playing basketball,” Beard said. “Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I said ‘Sure, I’ll help.’ So we started practicing in the mornings. Max Oldham was the athletics director at the time, and we started out with a whopping budget of $2,000.” However, in basketball lingo, that was only the tipoff. “When that was over, those girls and some others expressed an interest in having softball and tennis, so we started both of those sports in the spring,” Beard said. “I kind of went back and forth coaching both of those sports.” 
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