Sister Joanne Cleary served as principal until 1975. She was followed by 1945 alumna, Sister Karen Allen. As more women began to enter male dominated fields, the students of Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart asked the faculty to offer more technical and science classes, and the faculty obliged. Title IX, landmark legislation for gender equity, as well as important changes to the rules of women’s sports (such as the shift from half-court to full-court women’s basketball) made it a new era for athletics. Sports flourished, and the basketball team had a record of 127 straight wins.
The 1970s were particularly turbulent both nationally and locally. The Buffalo Braves, the city’s brand new NBA team, began their career strong but were floundering by 1978, and were dissolved into what is now the LA Clippers. In 1971, half of the employees of Bethlehem Steel were laid off, and the worst prison riot in United States history took place in the Attica Correctional Facility. The Iroquois Brewery, the last vestige of Buffalo’s once huge beer industry, closed. The Blizzard of 1977 blindsided the city and resulted in 28 deaths. Amidst the difficult events of the decade were bright spots. The Sabres went to the Stanley Cup and rejoiced at the skillful play of the “French Connection.” O. J. Simpson, star running back of the Buffalo Bills, led the team to immense success at their brand new Rich Stadium (now New Era Stadium) in Orchard Park. Meanwhile, the Bisons baseball team, who had left for Winnipeg earlier in the decade, returned to Buffalo.