New London - Carol Stiff was ESPN's director of programming and acquisitions in 2001 when the Worldwide Leader agreed to terms with the NCAA that it would produce all 63 games of the Division I women's basketball tournament, including 48 in the first four days.

Stiff did the unthinkable.

Not knowing how she could possibly conquer that task and all the minutia it entailed, including finding on-air talent and production crews for all 63, plus regionalizing the coverage geographically, she quit her job at ESPN.

She meant to quit, anyway. Really.

"I freaked out," she said. "I said, 'I can't do this.' I already told the Board of Ed in Bristol that I would take the job (teaching seventh- and eighth-grade health education)."

Happily for women's sports, Stiff was given the directive by her boss to think it over. She decided she would rely on teamwork to make the new initiative work, surrounding herself with good people.

"It continued to let me drive what I was so passionate about," she said, "women's sports."

Stiff was the keynote speaker Tuesday at the Coast Guard Academy's fourth annual Women's "Leadhership" Symposium for women in the field of intercollegiate athletics.

Stiff, who has worked at ESPN since 1990, is currently vice president of multimedia strategy and integration, a role that focuses on integrating the content and stories from espnW - geared to women's sports news - and elevating its presence across all ESPN's platforms.

In case you're not familiar with Stiff's work, it was she who created the inaugural Martin Luther King Day matchup between the UConn and Tennessee women's basketball programs in 1995 and who created various other women's basketball matchups, serving as a liaison between coaches to create the best programming possible.

For instance, Stiff ran into UConn coach Geno Auriemma once at Subway in Farmington and asked him to play Louisiana State the next year on Martin Luther King Day. Auriemma said no problem.

"It was fun. It was both (fun and a headache)," Stiff said. "… Kim Mulkey (Baylor coach) was going to play Geno in December. I called her and said, 'No, February. This is why. It allows you to step out of conference play to get ready for the NCAA tournament. It will give you good exposure to your recruits.' She said, 'OK.'"

Stiff helped spearhead the development of 2013's Nine for IX film series, as well, during the network's celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX.

The films included "Venus VS.," which chronicled Venus Williams' fight for pay equality in women's tennis and "Pat XO," a portrait of legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt and her battle with Alzheimer's.

Delivering the opening address Tuesday was Coast Guard superintendent Rear Adm. Sandra Stosz, who testified before the U.S. Senate in 2012 on the benefits of Title IX. Title IX was enacted in 1972 and declared that women could no longer be denied the benefits of any educational program receiving federal financial assistance, including athletics.

"I asked some of these young women if they knew what Title IX is and they didn't know," Stosz said of the time during her testimony. "I asked someone, 'Is that good or bad?'"

Coast Guard athletic director Tim Fitzpatrick, who initiated the leadership event to give his own staff professional development opportunities, believes that young women should understand the history of gender equity. Fitzpatrick said that more than 20 colleges and conferences were represented Tuesday.

Alfreeda Goff, Senior Associate Commissioner of the Horizon League, has spoken at each Coast Guard event since its inception. She agreed with Fitzpatrick's take.

"Like I said before, girls (prior to Title IX) could be three things, a secretary, a teacher, a nurse … or a housewife. Without Title IX we'd still be those three professions," Goff said. "They need to know, you're standing on someone's shoulders."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday