immaculata women's basketball 1972 roster
IMMACULATA, PA. 19345, Phone1-610-647-4400 On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata University's women's basketball team etched their name into sports history as the first women's college basketball national champions. Sister Mary of Lourdes (1915-2005), the college president, persuaded each of the trustees to pay for plane fare for one player. The Immaculata Mighty Macs played a huge part in the evolution of womens sports since the 1970s. Immaculata's 1972 women's NCAA championship team honored in Harrisburg HARRISBURG - The legendary Might Macs women's basketball team at Immaculata University was honored in the state Capitol on Monday, a week shy of the 40th anniversary of their historic national championship victory. At the time Rush was disappointed by the school administration's decision to not offer scholarships, but as she says, it was just the arrogance of her youth. The AIAW tournament was preceded by a tournament sponsored by the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW), which was held from 1969 to 1971.[1]. Other players became doctors, teachers, philanthropists, or businesswomen. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. vs #4 Gwynedd Mercy University // Immaculata, Pa. Recap Women's Basketball vs #4 Gwynedd Mercy University February 26, 2022 2:00 P.M. Though her team has no gym and no uniforms -- and the school itself is in danger of being sold -- Coach Rush looks to steer her girls to their first national championship. "They hate being called the pioneers of women's basketball, so I like to call them catalysts. The Mighty Macs went 24-1, with their only loss to West Chester in the regional finals. Once money played a major role in women's sports, the champs of women's basketball suddenly couldn't compete. I was a senior at Immaculata in 1972 and winning the championship that year is something I will never forget. 1954) led Old Dominion University to the AIAW championship in 1979 and 1980 and to the NCAA Womens Division I Basketball Championship in 1985. At Immaculata, Coach Cathy Rush (b. Check back soon! Even then, only eight of the 11 players could go, flying standby. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, 11 remarkable young women and their coach from immaculata college achieved the impossible, winning the first-ever national women's college basketball championship, and against all odds, capturing the title again in 1973 and 1974. Although the last AIAW champion was decided 18 years ago, the league played. Grounded in IHM tradition and charism since 1920. OR call toll-free: Rosemont College. This team from a small, Catholic women's college outside Philadelphia garnered national recognition for women's basketball and women's collegiate sports. The Immaculata Mighty Macs played a huge part in the evolution of womens sports since the 1970s. During March 14-20, the entire campus community will celebrate the Mighty Macs with various events and displays depicting the teams achievements. The third season saw Immaculata extend her winning streak to 35 games, and with a 68-53 win over Mississippi College, the Macs claimed their third national championship. Even then, the Mighty Macs had hurdles to overcome. SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College women's lacrosse team remained perfect on the season with a lopsided victory over Immaculata University, 19-3, on Wednesday night. The Mighty Macs' rise to national champions was a true David-versus-Goliath story. Their Cinderella story was made into a Hollywood movie, The Mighty Macs. Katie Hayek, who stars in the movie portraying a character based on Immaculata star Theresa Shank Grentz, admitted with a sheepish smile that she didn't know much about the story before taking the role. The Mighty Macs, as a 15th-seed,. The sport's governing body back then was the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), and there were no divisions. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata Universitys womens basketball team etched its name into sports history as the first womens college basketball national champions. The winners of those regional championships automatically proceeded to the National tournament, then a selection committee chose additional teams based upon considerations for individual team performance and geographical balance. They defeated South Dakota State University (60-47), Indiana State University (49-46), Mississippi State School for Women (46-43), and regional rival West Chester University (52-48). In 1972, the Immaculata Women's Basketball program faced financial struggles that almost kept the team from competing in the AIAW national tournament in Illinois. The 1975 and 1976 teams also reached the finals, losing to Delta State University in Mississippi both years. (In 1982, both the AIAW and NCAA sponsored competing tournaments.) 1145 W KING ROAD In the early 70s, Cathy Rush becomes the head basketball coach at a tiny, all-girls Catholic college. Immaculata experienced its initial taste of athletic victory in 1946 when an unwavering group of early Macs defeated the Temple Women's Basketball team to win the Mythical City Championship of Philadelphia. Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and celebrating the game of basketball at every level. Quaker Media, 2009. In their third game, the Macs had a tougher time against Southern Connecticut State University, but won 47-45. 1972-bracket 1972 Tournament AIAW National Tournament Consolation Winner: Queens College Consolation Runner-up: California State-Long Beach 16 teams California State-Fullerton California State-Long Beach* Illinois State Immaculata Indiana (or Indiana State?) West Chester University of Pennsylvania. The Dukes, who are in the hunt for an Atlantic 10 Championship double bye, began the week in a . We didn't have any of that.". Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram, Like The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Facebook, Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, The Mighty Macs (Trailer via Youtube, April 3, 2014), Mighty Macs Naismith Hall of Fame/ Macs Memories (Immaculata.edu), Cathy Rush gets call from the Hall archived story (Gomightymacs.com). Immaculata couldn't afford to send everyone -- despite fundraising with toothbrush sales and raffles, so three players were left behind. And unlike Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma's teams, which have dominated the women's basketball landscape in an age of growing fan interest and TV coverage, coach Cathy Rush and her Mighty Macs built title winners out of grit and determination alone. The highlight during the early years was defeating the Temple Owlettes in 1946, winning the unofficial City Championship and handing Temple its first defeat in four years. Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. ofGreaterPhiladelphia. The Mighty Macs continued their dominance, reaching the Final Four in the following three seasons, placing second in 1975 and 1976, and fourth in 1977. Rush and her Mighty Macs paved the way for the great teams to follow, winning the next two titles and appearing in five of the first six championship games. The film focuses on their rise to prominence and their struggles as underdogs in womens basketball. I was a senior at Immaculata in 1972 and winning the championship that year is something I will never forget. Basketball brought the Immaculata community together, and Immaculatas success showcased the high quality of basketball played by Philadelphias Catholic schools. The Mighty Macs and their legendary coach, Cathy Rush, will celebrate this milestone with members of the campus community, the current womens basketball team, and Tim Chambers, director of The Mighty Macs. This Immaculata team definitely felt on top of the world. "So many things have changed, per diems, strength coaches, academic advisers, your own jet for travel. Another Mighty Macs championship-winning player, Marianne Crawford Stanley, also went on to coach NCAA womens basketball and professional basketball for the Womens National Basketball Association. "They were a team that was way ahead of their time. Even at less than full strength, Immaculata won the title, upsetting West Chester -- which had beaten the Mighty Macs by 32 points a week earlier. Even then, only eight of the 11 players could go, flying standby. Coach Cathy Rush was the head womens basketball coach at Immaculata from 1970-1977. I didn't see that.". Copyright 2023 American Community Journals, LLC |, Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. The Mighty Macs championship teams legacy has not gone unnoticed in the world of sports. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, 11 remarkable young women and their coach from immaculata college achieved the impossible, winning the first-ever national womens college basketball championship, and against all odds, capturing the title again in 1973 and 1974. The AIAW women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate basketball teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982. Now, 40 years after its incredible run started, Immaculata's story has been made into a movie ("The Mighty Macs") that will open nationally Friday. Cathy Rush, her Mighty Macs championship-winning squads, and a few individual Mighty Macs players who also found basketball coaching success have been enshrined in Basketball Hall of Fame organizations in the United States. Jan 13 (Sat) W, 63-57. Members of Immaculata Universitys three national championship womens basketball teams reunited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their first national title, won on Sunday, March 19, 1972. The Mighty Macs honor role includes Head Coach Cathy Rush and players Janet Ruch Boltz, Denise Conway Crawford, Janet Young Eline, Theresa Shank Grentz, Nancy Johnston, Barbara Deuble Kelly, Tina Krah, Patricia Mulhern Loughran, Judy Marra Martelli, Maureen Mooney, Sue Forsyth OGrady, Patricia Opila, Rene Muth Portland, Betty Ann Hoffman Quinn, Mary Scharff, Marianne Crawford Stanley, Maureen Stuhlman and Marie Liguori Williams. City of Champions is the title of a mural painted in 2015 on the side of Spikes Trophies at 2701 Grant Avenue in Philadelphia. ft. of basketball history. Rush and the Mighty Macs also captured the AIAW championship in 1974, making three in a row. The Mighty Macs continued their dominance, reaching the Final Four in the following three seasons, placing second in 1975 and 1976 and fourth in 1977. The Basketball Hall of Fame makes no representation concerning, and is not responsible for the quality, content, accessibility, nature or reliability of any hyperlinked site. After drawing over 4,000 fans for a Monday afternoon game, she thought about charging admission in order to raise money for the program. The 1973 team went undefeated, beating Queens College in the finals, and the 1974 team defeated Mississippi State College for Women in the finals. To think that 11 young women and their equally young coach raised the profile and changed the perception of womens sports is amazing. Karen Guentheris Professor of History at Mansfield University and author of Sports in Pennsylvania (2007), published by the Pennsylvania Historical Association. To raise money, players sold toothbrushes. She led Immaculata to three consecutive AIAW national titles from 1972-1974. To honor the 50th anniversary of the first victory, Immaculata is recognizing members of all three national championship teams during a campus celebration on Friday, March 18, from 12 to 3 p.m. During March 14-20, the entire campus community will celebrate the Mighty Macs with various events and displays depicting the teams achievements. The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. In the championship game against old nemesis West Chester (which had sent its third team to play the Macs during the regular season), Immaculata rose to the occasion and avenged the 32-point regional loss a week earlier with a 52-48 victory. Nearly 200,000 people visit the Hall of Fame Museum each year to learn about the game, experience the interactive exhibits and test their skills on the Jerry Colangelo "Court of Dreams." The Mighty Macs were forced to work out at local grade schools and play all their games on the road. The adventures of the first championship team were loosely portrayed in the award-winning feature film The Mighty Macs (2009). Directed by Tim Chambers. Rush is a breast cancer survivor. The official box score of Basketball vs Immaculata on 11/15/2022 The Mighty Macs continued their dominance, reaching the Final Four in . Westcott, Rich. The Mighty Macs, as a 15th-seed, upset three teams to reach the finals in Illinois. [1][2] The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years. In the spring of 1972, still a few months before the passage of Title IX, Immaculata College won the first of three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championships. The country had nine regions, but the Eastern regional was subdivided in a Region 1A and a Region 1B. "It would have been huge for us.". The players crowded four to a room and washed their wool uniforms in hotel sinks. In 2001, Theresa Grentz was inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame. The success of the Mighty Macs built upon a tradition of basketball at Immaculata that began in 1939 and drew skilled Philadelphia area female basketball players to its all-womens campus. Mississippi-Women** Northern Illinois Phillips (OK) Queens College Canterino also played for Immaculata from 1989-92 and makes sure that the current athletes are aware of the team's storied past. The Mighty Macs finished the season 24-1. The AIAW women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate basketball teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982. Immaculata's 1972 team won the first-ever national women s college basketball championship title, the first of three consecutive championships for the university and the Mighty Macs. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Wire index, Bulls, Catchings win Sports Humanitarian awards, UNC hires ex-player, coach Crawley as assistant, Docs: Johnson seeks spousal support from Griner, Team USA tops Canada for women's hoops gold, Summitt saluted by Vols family at charity event. Led by three-time All-America Theresa Shank and two-time All-America Marianne Crawford, the Macs featured a balanced attack that also featured players like Mary Scharff, Rene Muth, and Judy Marra. The host site was Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. DVD distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2012. For more information about the 50th anniversary event or to interview any of the Mighty Mac players, email lszyjka@immaculata.edu. OR call toll-free: From 1972 to 1977, the Rush-led Macs appeared in six straight AIAW Final Fours. The Mighty Macs winning history has also reached the silver screen. History. (Author information current at time of publication.). Copyright 2023 American Community Journals, LLC |, Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. The Mighty Macs finished the season 24-1, making 70% of their free throws. Cathy Rush left Immaculata in 1977 after compiling a record of 149-15. Yet despite those and many other hardships, the 23-year-old Rush coached her team to a spot in the first-ever women's national college tournament in 1972. Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the games elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata University's women's basketball team etched its name into sports history as the first women's college basketball national champions. The 1972 AIAW women's basketball tournament was held on March 1619, 1972. : She was inducted into the womens Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. I was a senior at Immaculata in 1972 and winning the championship that year is something I will never forget. Yet after she resigned in 1976 from the 500-student school, the Hall of Famer never coached again. They handily defeated their first two opponents, Indiana State (59-48) and Western Washington (66-53,) by more than ten points. PHILADELPHIA -- Long before Tennessee and Connecticut, Immaculata College was the original women's basketball dynasty. The women had to sell toothbrushes to fund their trip to Illinois for the first womens national collegiate championship tournament. She didn't completely give up basketball, though, beginning a Future Stars camp that she still is involved in. The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. "That sized college wasn't going to continue to be successful against UCLA, Texas or whomever. They won their first three games, then defeated archrival West Chester for the national championships. Rush is widely acknowledged for shining the national spotlight on women's basketball and playing a crucial . Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. Follow Doug Feinberg at http://twitter.com/dougfeinberg. We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here. [3] [4] [5] [6] History [ edit] However, the Mighty Macs continued to be remembered. They left and then added to the game and that to me is an incredible legacy for them.". Stay tuned for live updates to follow. In the first game, the Macs overcame South Dakota State 60-47, then defeated Indiana University (49-47) and the Mississippi State College for Women (46-43). The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. The women had to sell toothbrushes to fund their trip to Illinois for the first womens national collegiate championship tournament. Players trained by running to gain endurance, and during the 1971-72 season the training paid off. The all-girls Catholic school just outside of Philadelphia had virtually no money. 1 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Immaculata shocked the world of college sports, and the rest is history!. Large and small schools from across the country were bunched. Angela Johnson Anne Hurley Bev Barnes Beverley Bland Carol Turney Chris Critelli Coleen Dufresne Donna Hobin Joanne Sargent Joyce Douthwright Sheila Strike Sylvia Sweeney Head Coach: Brian Heaney Czechoslovakia [ edit] The following players represented Czechoslovakia: [4] Boena Miklooviov Dana Ptkov Hana Douov Ivana Koinkov [1][2] The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years. The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Before we send you to , pleasesubscribe to our daily newsletter. The Mighty Macs and their legendary coach, Cathy Rush, will celebrate this milestone with members of the campus community, the current womens basketball team, and Tim Chambers, director of The Mighty Macs. Pre-NCAA statistics, based on AIAW Archives, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.[8]. In the spring of 1972, still a few months before the passage of Title IX, Immaculata College won the first of three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championships. Immaculata shocked the world of college sports, and the rest is history!. Several players continued their love of the game by becoming high-profile professional and collegiate coaches making their mark from the sidelines. Overall, she guided the Mighty Macs to 6 consecutive final four appearances in her seven seasons with the college, attaining a 149-15 record. The 1972 victory is now a landmark moment in the history of college sports: the Mighty Macs were an underdog team from a small womens college in suburban Philadelphia with a gym that burned to the ground years before. Those schools were going to attract the better players. After that victory, the Immaculata team returned to the AIAW finals for the second year in a row. The Mighty Macs and their legendary coach, Cathy Rush, will celebrate this milestone with members of the campus community, the current womens basketball team and Tim Chambers, director of The Mighty Macs movie.
