Never Done Making History

Through February 28, 2023  •  Included with admission

One of the most triumphant Olympic stories is on display in the museum's Legacy Building. Highlighting the legendary, Tennessee State University's (TSU) Tigerbelles track team is our latest exhibition Never Done Making History presented by Nike.

The installation was launched during the 50th anniversary year of the Nike corporation and Title IX federal mandate to include women in all sports activities. The monumental impact of the TSU Women’s Track and Field spans college championships, Olympic Medals, and world records and includes the first-ever, Nike-sponsored 1978 relay team. 

A large-scale, original art piece composed of 25,984 track shoe spikes is featured along with articles, TSU yearbooks, Nike track shoes and uniforms, and other artifacts from the Tigerbelles’ story during the 1970s.  The larger-than-life art installation depicts a famous photograph of track athletes Debbie Jones, Chandra Cheeseborough, and Ernestine Davis crossing a finish line in 1978.

That year, the Tigerbelles set the World Record in the 880-yard indoor relay, the first-ever set by a Nike-sponsored team, collegiate or professional. Their story needs to be known, far and wide, because the Tigerbelles would change running—and athlete activism—forever.

View the journal story bout the exhibition from Nike's Department of Archives which includes a video tribute to the Tigerbelles from the Museum.