Hall of Fame Women's Basketball Coach C. Vivian Stringer Retiring After 50 Years
Apr 30, 2022
FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2018, file photo, Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer instructs her team during the first half of a NCAA basketball game against Maryland in College Park, Md. The Rutgers women's basketball team last played on Jan. 3 and has been on pause because of COVID-19 issues in the program for the past month. They'll finally play again on Sunday at home against Nebraska. Ironically, that was the Scarlet Knights' last opponent before being shutdown. (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)
C. Vivian Stringer, who's led the
Rutgers women's basketball program since 1995, announced Saturday
she's set to retire after 50 years on the sideline.
"This was the hardest decision of
my life, but I thank God he has allowed me to do the thing I love
most," Stringer said. "I am ready to start my new journey and
spending more time with my family, children and grandchildren. I am
truly blessed to have had so many wonderful people in my life."
Stringer, 74, started her Hall of Fame
career at Cheyney State in 1972 and also made a stop at Iowa from 1983
through 1995. She led her teams to four appearances in the NCAA
tournament's Final Four.
Her retirement will become official
Sept. 1, but the Scarlet Knights' search for a new head coach will
begin immediately.
Stringer compiled a 1,055-426 record
(.712 winning percentage) across 50 years as a head coach. The 11-20
record Rutgers posted in 2021-22 marked just her second losing season
over the past two decades.
Her long list of accolades is
highlighted by the 1993 Naismith College Coach of the Year Award and
an Olympic gold medal as an assistant coach for the USA women's
team at the 2004 Athens Games.
She guided Iowa to six Big Ten
regular-season titles and Rutgers to four Big East titles, three
regular season and one postseason. She also led the Scarlet Knights
to the 2014 women's NIT championship.
Stringer explained that reflection led
her to conclude it's "important to step aside and challenge others
to step up and take this game forward."
"To the young ladies that I was
fortunate to have coached and mentored into the women and leaders of
today, keep pushing the barriers, keep pushing for your spot at the
table, and always know who you are," she said.
Rutgers athletic director Pat Hobbs
called the longtime coach a "titan in college basketball."
"As the first coach to lead three
different programs to the Final Four, she will continue to be
mentioned along with the game's other great Hall of Famers," Hobbs
said. "Her place in the history of the game is cemented, but more
remarkable is the legions of young women whose lives she helped
shape."
School president Jonathan Holloway
added: "Coach Stringer's impact has been felt across our
campuses, around the state and throughout the nation. She is an icon
whose accomplishments on and off the court are as remarkable as they
are inspiring."
Stringer was inducted in the Women's
Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball
Hall of Fame in 2009.
