The forerunner of the Women’s Athletic Association/ Recreation Association was the Gymnasium and Field Association organized at Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1904. The creator, Delphine Hanna, expressed that the organization would help college women and girls “become proficient in some sport that she could carry over into her life after college.” The first initiation of the Women’s Athletic Association was by Bryn Mawr College, which united student sports clubs under one organization.

During the Great Depression and through World War II, WAAs grew in number around the country; however, under a different function and scope. Due to the removal of state and national championships for women, intramurals and extramural “play days” were developed as an alternative form of competition. Usually working with the women’s physical education departments, intramural programs especially flourished throughout the country, with many being sponsored by the WAA/WRA. College and university WAA’s found shared support in the Athletic Conference of American College Women as it provided WAA a national, sectional, and state structure.

On local campuses, the need for associations grew due to limited opportunities for voluntary extra-class activities related to sports, and could allow for more connections with others. As women with non-competitive interests such as dance, hiking, and camping wanted to participate in the WAA, the organization soon expanded to include them. This decision was later reflected by the name change in many schools, from the Women’s Athletic Association to the Women’s Recreation Association.

At Springfield College, the Women’s Athletic Association began when the first full class of women students arrived on campus in 1951. The WAA changed its name to the Women’s Recreation Athletics (WRA) around the 1963-1964 school year. The mission was to conduct an extracurricular sports program for women following the highest ideals in women’s sports and to promote interest in athletics and good sportsmanship. It was a student-run organization with a faculty advisor that managed the club and intramural sports available to women both on campus and helped promote intercollegiate sports with various other Colleges and Universities and sport organizations. With the first Women’s Varsity athletic teams beginning in 1963, the WRA helped promote, schedule and provided support for the early varsity teams. The WRA continued through the 1976-1977 school year.

Information mostly retrieved from: The history of Springfield College Women’s Recreation Association, ca. 1964-1967 & Historical Development and Present Practices of Women's Athletic/Recreation Association, compiled by Alyce Cheska (1966) .