Vivian Barfield began her tenure as the first female Assistant Athletic Director at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in January 1975, less than three years after passage of Title IX of the Higher Education Act. Dedicated to the advancement of women's athletics, Barfield was charged with upgrading and expanding the women's athletic program and she was expected to contribute to the decision-making process in men's athletics as well. Despite making strides toward bringing UMass into compliance with Title IX, her efforts were ultimately undercut by a running dispute over her job description with Athletic Director Frank McInerney, and her stay in Amherst was correspondingly brief.

Despite the brevity of Vivian Barfield's tenure as the first female Assistant Athletic Director at UMass, her papers offer insight into a key moment in the history of women's collegiate athletics. With materials relating to Title IX, affirmative action, and perhaps most importantly, Barfield's class action suit against the University, the collection reflects the volatile mid-1970s mix of women's sports, second-wave feminism, and gender discrimination at UMass.

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