PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The 40th anniversary of the Rutgers University women's basketball 1982 AIAW National Championship will be immortalized and celebrated with the debut of the Forgotten Champions documentary on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
The film, co-executive produced by Rutgers and WRSU-FM alums Geoff Sadow and Jon Newman, is five years in the making. The historic 1981-82 Lady Knights team will be honored at an all-star event premiering the documentary at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. The documentary was written & co-directed by former ESPN the Magazine executive editor Sue Hovey, who guided ESPN's extensive cross-platform coverage highlighting the 40th anniversary of Title IX in 2012. The film is narrated by FIFA World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, and Rutgers Hall of Fame soccer star Carli Lloyd.
Prior to the screening will be a panel discussion on the history of women's hoops "On the Banks" from the Lady Knights to the B1G, featuring Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, former Rutgers head coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Theresa Grentz, members of the team, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Marianne Stanley, and others to be announced. The premiere event is sponsored by Rutgers Athletics, Big Ten Network, and the New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO). Big Ten Network will air the Forgotten Champions documentary and coverage of the premiere event.
The screening will be part of Rutgers Athletics' year-long celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landmark federal law known as Title IX that was signed into law on June 23, 1972
A limited number of general public tickets may be available for the premiere event. For more information, visit http://www.forgottenchampions.com or follow on Twitter at @forgottenchamp1.
About Forgotten Champions
Forgotten Champions is the story of the 1981-82 Rutgers women's basketball team, an underdog squad that shocked the powerful Texas Longhorns to win the AIAW national championship and punctuate a season of upheaval in the sport. It is the story of how Theresa Grentz, the All-American center who led tiny Immaculata College to three straight national titles from 1972-74, built Rutgers into a contender after becoming the nation's first full-time collegiate women's basketball coach in 1976, at age 24.
Above all, the film examines a pivotal moment in women's sports history, when noble aspirations collided with economic interests to create a paradigm shift that continues to reverberate almost 40 years later. While Grentz and her players would go on to achieve great success in their future endeavors, both on the court and off, their championship season has largely become a footnote, an overlooked accomplishment that unfolded in the shadow of the NCAA's takeover of the women's game.
