Mary Parker was a shaping force not only in Ohio Wesleyan sports but in women’s athletics on the national level. The Battling Bishops’ volleyball coach for 26 years, Parker was named North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1986. Her 1992 squad reached the 20-win mark for the first time in school history and finished as runner-up in the league tournament, and her 1993 team went 26-9, including an 8-0 record in NCAC play. She also coached the Battling Bishop women’s lacrosse team from its inception in 1966 until 1991. Parker also coached basketball, field hockey, softball, soccer, and bowling at Ohio Wesleyan, and served as coordinator of women’s athletics from 1977-84. Parker co-founded the Midwest Lacrosse District of the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association in 1971, serving as the district’s secretary from 1973-77 and its vice president from 1977-84. Parker was co-founder and president of the short-lived Centennial Athletic Conference from 1982-84 and was active in the formation of the North Coast Athletic Conference to which Ohio Wesleyan now belongs.