Jan. 22 -- THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. -- When Deb Jacobson was hired at Northland Community and Technical College half a century ago, she saw it as just a job. She never really considered it was going to be big.

The many years she worked at Northland -- coaching the women's basketball, volleyball and softball teams, as well as acting as women's athletic director, assistant athletic director and athletic director -- will be commemorated this week at Northland's 50th anniversary event for its women's athletic departments.

"I was just doing my job. It was a fun job and I loved it and I kept with it for 34 years," Jacobson said. "It was a great opportunity and, thinking about 50 years of women's sports at Northland, it's very meaningful for me."

The anniversary is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 25, at Northland's Thief River Falls campus. It begins at 1 p.m. with a game between the Northland women's basketball team and Central Lakes. Jacobson and women's athletics alumni will be honored during halftime.

The men's basketball team will also play a game following the women's game, with men's athletics alumni recognized at halftime. Following the games will be a social in the cafeteria from 5 to 6 p.m. with appetizers and a cash bar.

At 6 p.m., the anniversary program will begin at Gunderson Commons. Interim President Shari Olson will speak, as well as Shannon Nelson, head coach for women's basketball, and Jacobson. Other women's alumni will be invited to speak about their experiences at Northland.

There is a women's basketball alumni day every winter, said Nelson, and the 50-year anniversary of the women's programs is an opportunity to expand it to the other women's sports. She's excited for her players to witness the event and see the history of the program.

"I think sometimes when you're 18, 19 years old, you don't think about 50 years ago, or 55 or 60 years ago, when women had to sit on the sidelines and watch. Maybe they had an opportunity to be on a cheer squad, but had very little athletic opportunities," she said. "We just feel honored as the women's basketball team to be a part of it."

Title IX, a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program receiving funding from the federal government, was passed in 1972 and led to a boom in women's sports.

Olson couldn't play basketball before Title IX was passed, making the 50-year anniversary significant to her personally and professionally, she said.

"It really has changed my life, because without (the experience) I would have never had the experience as the member of team or the leadership opportunities. It just built the foundation for me to be confident to pursue my dreams as an educator," she said.

Olson played volleyball at the University of Minnesota Crookston and was a head volleyball coach at Northland for three years. The experience helped prepare her for the position of leadership she's in now, she said. At a basketball game in November, she saw an old photo of Jacobson and her volleyball team on the basketball program. That prompted her to start planning the anniversary.

"She's a pioneer," Olson said.

Jacobson started at Northland part-time and from the get-go was the women's athletic director, which was a new concept because Title IX had just been passed, she said. She and college leaders had to learn alongside each other.

Intercollegiate softball began in spring 1974, followed by the start of the volleyball program in the fall and women's basketball in the winter. She coached volleyball until the end of the 1994 season, and basketball and softball until 1985. She was the women's athletic director from 1974 to 1984, assistant athletic director from 1985 to 2000 and athletic director from 2001 to 2007. She was inducted into the Northland Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

It's interesting to see the difference between the athletes of yesterday and today, Jacobson said. Skill levels have increased and players are more specialized. When she began, it was mostly the same women playing the different sports.

"The skill level (is) unbelievable from when it started," she said. "I hope that there will be a lot of people that are coming back for it so I can see them and meet them and greet them, tell some stories and all that. It is very special for me, to think back of what it was 50 years ago and what it is today. It's amazing."

All are welcome at the event and those interested can RSVP on Northland's website.