NEW YORK, NY – Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame last night at the Women's Sports Foundation's 27th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner.
"I am honored to be here celebrating with so many amazing females athletes," said Stringer. "Coaching has brought me so much joy, and I thank my players and coaching staffs for so many unforgettable memories throughout my career and the Women's Sports Foundation for believing in the power and appeal of sport for girls and women everywhere."
After graduating from Slippery Rock University in 1971, the then-23-year-old Stringer offered her coaching services free of charge at Cheyney State University. During her 12 seasons at Cheyney State, she took her team to the first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsored national championships for women's basketball in 1982. Cheyney State did the unimaginable by advancing to the first Final Four.
Beginning with the 1983-1984 season, Stringer took over the women's basketball program at the University of Iowa, a team struggling in the lower ranks of the Big Ten. Over the next 11 years, Iowa produced ten consecutive 20-win seasons and a trip to the 1993 Final Four, making Stringer the first coach in history to lead two different schools to the national semifinals. Stringer also won three National Coach of the Year awards (1982, Wade Trophy; 1988, Converse; 1993, Naismith) and three NCAA District V Coach of the Year awards (1985, 1988, 1993) while at the University of Iowa.
Stringer came to Rutgers in 1995, and Scarlet Knights won the BIG EAST 7 Division Title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen following the 1997-98 season. Since then, the Scarlet Knights have advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight (1999, 2005), Final Four (2000) and NCAA Tournament second round (2001, 2003), and captured BIG EAST regular-season crowns in 2005 and 2006.
Stringer has been honored as the Big Ten Coach of the Year (1991 and 1993), Giant Steps Coach of the Year (1994), District I Coach of the Year (1998 and 2006), the Big East Coach of the Year (1998 and 2005), and the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year (1998, 2000, 2005 and 2006). She was also named New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year (1998-2000) and Black Coaches Association Lifetime Achievement Award winner (2004); was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2001); and was recognized as "101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports" by Sports Illustrated (2003). One of her most personally gratifying accolades is the 1993 Carol Eckman Award, which acknowledges coaches demonstrating spirit, courage, integrity, commitment, leadership and service to the game of women's basketball.
In addition to her collegiate career, Stringer has also displayed her talents in the international arena as an assistant coach for the bronze-medal 1980 Jones Cup team and the gold-medal 2004 U.S. Olympic team. On the national level, Stringer lead the 1982 U.S. Olympic Festival East Team to a bronze medal, the 1984 World University Games team to a silver medal, the 1989 World Championship Qualifying team to a gold medal and the 1991 U.S. Pan American Games team to a bronze medal.
The Women's Sports Foundation International Hall of Fame recognizes the athletic achievements of those who have competed at least 25 years prior to the present year in the Pioneer category. Athletes whose accomplishments came within the past 25 years are inducted into the Contemporary category. The Coach category was added in 1990 and honors both active and retired coaches. To be eligible for nomination, an athlete must be retired from her sport for at least five years. In the coach category, she must have coached in the United States and have at least 10 years coaching experience. Selections are made from around the world and are based on achievements, breakthroughs, innovative style and ongoing commitment to the development of women's sports. Sports organizations, sports historians and the public nominate potential candidates. The Hall of Fame Selection Committee votes to select inductees. Since its inception in 1980, 110 athletes and 20 coaches have been inducted.
In its 27th year, the Women's Sports Foundation Annual Salute to Women in Sports is a celebration of women's sports and recognizes the achievements of all female athletes from myriad sports. Annually, the Foundation crowns two Sportswomen of the Year—one each in Team and Individual categories—inducts members into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame and names the Billie Jean King Contribution Award and Wilma Rudolph Courage Award winners. This year's award winners are Melanie Troxel, Individual Sportswoman of the Year; Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, Team Sportswomen of the Year; 2006 Hall of Fame inductees Stringer, Nawal El Moutawakel, Shane Gould and Diana Nyad; Billie Jean King Contribution Award Winner Dr. Dorothy Gulbenkian Blaney; and Wilma Rudolph Courage Award Winner Jean Driscoll. Presented by Advanta, ESPN, Gatorade and Russell Athletic, this Awards Dinner annually nets more than $1 million for the Foundation and its programs.
