Thanks to all who joined us on this special day!
About Our Keynote Speaker: C. Vivian Stringer
One of the most recognizable names and faces in all of college basketball, C. Vivian Stringer has built an illustrious career highlighted by countless milestones. In more than 46 seasons, Coach Stringer has transformed three programs into national title contenders. The first coach in men’s or women’s basketball history to take three different schools to the Final Four (Cheyney in 1982, Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers in 2000 and 2007), Stringer has been a pioneer, visionary and leader during her four decades of success on the hardwood. Entering the 2017-18 season, Stringer has compiled a remarkable overall record of 977-390, which ranks sixth on the all-time Division I women’s coaches victories list and fifth among active coaches. In Feb. 2013, Stringer became just the seventh coach - men’s or women’s - to reach the 900-win mark and more recently in Feb. 2015, she became the all-time winningest Big Ten women’s basketball coach with 182 conference wins during her tenure at Iowa and Rutgers. Additionally, her 34 20-win seasons are second-best in women’s basketball history.
While at Rutgers, Stringer has registered a 457-255 mark, having led the Scarlet Knights to 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as the WNIT Championship in 2014. During the 2015-16 campaign, she became RU’s all-time winningest basketball coach. Stringer was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. She became just the 11th women’s coach to earn the prestigious prize.
A coal miner’s daughter, Stringer learned a valuable lesson from her parents growing up in the small tight-knit community of Edenborn in western Pennsylvania: “Work hard and don’t look for excuses, and you can achieve anything.” That lesson has stuck with the legendary college basketball coach and has been one of the primary messages she has passed on to the hundreds of players who have stood before her. It’s been her perseverance and strength in the eyes of adversity that has meant the most to the people around her. Stringer prides herself on not only teaching her players the game of basketball but more importantly providing them life lessons that stand the test of time.
Stringer has overcome many challenges in her life; the loss of her beloved father at the tender age of 19; in 1982, her only daughter being stricken with spinal meningitis just prior to her Cheyney team’s appearance in the very first Final Four; the sudden death of her beloved husband, Bill, to a heart attack on Thanksgiving Day 1992 and a bout with breast cancer which she kept a secret from nearly everyone in her life. Through it all, Stringer has handled life with dignity and grace rising above the tragedies to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of young women.
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