Stringer To Be Enshrined In Naismith Hall Of Fame Friday

Sept. 10, 2009

IOWA CITY – Former University of Iowa Head Women’s Basketball Coach C. Vivian Stringer will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Friday at Symphony Hall in Springfield, MA. Stringer will join NBA legends Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton and Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan in the Class of 2009. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Stringer is the first coach, male or female, to take three different teams to the Final Four. She led Cheyney State to a Final Four in 1982, Iowa in 1993 and Rutgers in both 2000 and 2007. She currently ranks third in career victories (825) in Division I women’s basketball history.

Stringer served as Iowa’s head coach from 1983-95, and collected an impressive 269-84 record (.762). She led the Hawkeyes to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in her 12 seasons, including a berth in the 1993 Final Four. She was named National Coach of the Year twice while in Iowa City (1988, 1993). She also earned NCAA District Coach of the Year honors in 1983, 1985 and 1988. Stringer was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1991.

Stringer already belongs to numerous Halls of Fame, including the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame (2006), the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame (2006), the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2001) and the Sport in Society Hall of Fame (2005).

The 2009 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Ceremony will be televised live on ESPN and NBA TV from 5:30-8 p.m. (CT) Friday night. NBA TV will air a live red carpet special from 4:30-5:30 p.m. (CT).