Line judge Sarah Thomas #53 looks on before Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Last month’s Super Bowl LV in Tampa proved to serve as another breakthrough for women in sports, in a stretch of months that’s been full of them. Locust and Javadifar followed in the footsteps of Katie Sowers, an assistant for the San Francisco 49ers who became the first woman to coach in a Super Bowl last year. They’re now added to the list of other women who have broken barriers in sports recently. In January, the Boston Red Sox hired Bianca Smith as a minor league coach, becoming the first Black woman to coach in professional baseball.

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2020, file photo,Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller walks along the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn. Fuller, the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game, says she has been invited to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sarah Fuller, the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game, says she's been invited to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. “It’s an honor to be invited to participate in one of America’s greatest traditions,” Fuller posted Sunday on social media. The glass ceilings are breaking,” she added, including the Twitter handles for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris — who will become the first woman to hold that office — Biden, and their inaugural committee. She got another chance on Dec. 12, when Vanderbilt had only 49 scholarship players for its game against Tennessee.

FILE - In this Dec. 1, 2020, file photo, the Olympic Symbol is reinstalled after it was taken down for maintenance ahead of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. Your 2020 year-end sports quiz awaits. Like much else these days, quizzes will be graded on the curve:JanuaryThe IOC sets conduct guidelines for athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. JulyThe renamed Washington Football Team might get another rebrand. ___Answers: January (b); February (a); March (b); April (a); May (c); June (b); July (c); August (a); September (a); October (b); November (b); December (c).

With the kick, Fuller became the first female to play in a Southeastern Conference football game. Fuller, a senior, became the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game with a kickoff against Missouri on Nov. 28. Her gender-breaking accomplishment was a glimmer of inspiration amid the darkness of a pandemic. The Los Angeles Dodgers kept the trend going at the end of a pandemic-shortened baseball season, earning their first World Series title since 1988. “We never stopped," World Series MVP Corey Seager said.

Fuller cleanly converted both of her kicks, to the cheers of her teammates and family. After the game, Fuller said the Vanderbilt football staff has judged her on ability throughout her short tenure with the team. “This whole time has been if I can do it, if I’m good enough to do it,” Fuller said. They also won their second straight loss to Vanderbilt for the first time since 2014-15. ... Bailey started his second straight game and completed his first 13 passes, which included Tennessee's first TD on a 6-yarder to Princeton Fant.

Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller walks along the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game, cleanly kicking a pair of extra points for Vanderbilt in a 42-17 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. Listed second out of three available kickers on the depth chart, Fuller came out to try the extra point. No woman before Fuller had appeared in an SEC game or for any Power Five team. Liz Heaston became the first woman to score in college football with two extra points for Willamette of NAIA on Oct. 18, 1997. Katie Hnida was the first woman to score at the Football Bowl Subdivision level with two extra points for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003.

Patterson)The Southeastern Conference has announced a revamped schedule for Dec. 12 and Dec. 19, including Vanderbilt's game at No. The rescheduled games announced Friday were made necessary following postponements due to the SEC's COVID-19 protocols. This week, 12 of 56 games scheduled were postponed or canceled. Among other games on the new Dec. 19 schedule, the same day as the SEC championship game, are Texas A&M at Tennessee, rescheduled from Nov. 14. The Vanderbilt-Georgia and Texas A&M-Tennessee games would not be played if the Bulldogs and Aggies, respectively, qualify for the SEC championship game.