OT- ODU achieves 1000 wins in school history

[TAWRUReady]

Yesterday, ODU women's basketball team became the 4th program to get to 1000 wins in school history. Supposedly the other schools are Tenn, LA Tech and JMU.

http://augustafreepress.com/odu-womens-basketball-records-1000th-win/

The first two are not a surprise but JMU is, a bit, and it is also a surprise that RU is not on the list.
It seemed like RU must be getting close to this milestone so I tried checking and
Grentz and Stringer account for almost 900 wins in total but the previous two years only added about 11 wins, so RU has a ways to go.

GO RU! Beat the Lady Tigers!

 

[ecojew]

JMU is a surprise but it wouldn't surprise me if many of those wins were achieved prior to JMU becoming a D1 program. I'm not sure when that happened.

As for RU, I was unaware that there were two years prior to Grentz. My earliest recollection of RU women's bball was the year when the RAC opened and the women won the first college game ever played there (the Nets played there that year and their season started earlier), defeating SHU in the first game of a doubleheader that saw the men's team also defeat SHU in the nightcap (RU would later - in Dec. 1981? - go on to sweep the first college doubleheader to be played in the new Meadowlands arena, with the women and men sweeping UCLA). So overall, RU has just a bit over 40 years of history in the sport.

The early days of women's bball, at least as I recall them, were dominated mostly by smaller, non-big-time football playing schools, aside from Tennessee. ODU was certainly among them and RU developed a very nice rivalry with them for quite a while. Other early powers included LaTech, Immaculata, Cheney State (with CVS), Queens College (CUNY), Delta State, and even Montclair State, who had one of the early big stars of women's bball (whose name escapes me at the moment). I'm sure there were a few others in the mix before the big football schools, perhaps impelled by Title IX, began to invest in the sport and provide scholarships for women's athletics. Most of this activity took place outside of the realm of NCAA championships, in what was called the AIAW (?). Finally in the early 80s, the NCAA decided to hold a women's championship and most schools moved over to that. But RU delayed a year and won the very last AIAW national championship, defeating Texas (IIRC) in the final.

If any of this is incorrect, I hope that some of the other old-timers will correct me!

 

[NickyNewark51]

JMU is a surprise but it wouldn't surprise me if many of those wins were achieved prior to JMU becoming a D1 program. I'm not sure when that happened.

As for RU, I was unaware that there were two years prior to Grentz. My earliest recollection of RU women's bball was the year when the RAC opened and the women won the first college game ever played there (the Nets played there that year and their season started earlier), defeating SHU in the first game of a doubleheader that saw the men's team also defeat SHU in the nightcap (RU would later - in Dec. 1981? - go on to sweep the first college doubleheader to be played in the new Meadowlands arena, with the women and men sweeping UCLA). So overall, RU has just a bit over 40 years of history in the sport.

The early days of women's bball, at least as I recall them, were dominated mostly by smaller, non-big-time football playing schools, aside from Tennessee. ODU was certainly among them and RU developed a very nice rivalry with them for quite a while. Other early powers included LaTech, Immaculata, Cheney State (with CVS), Queens College (CUNY), Delta State, and even Montclair State, who had one of the early big stars of women's bball (whose name escapes me at the moment). I'm sure there were a few others in the mix before the big football schools, perhaps impelled by Title IX, began to invest in the sport and provide scholarships for women's athletics. Most of this activity took place outside of the realm of NCAA championships, in what was called the AIAW (?). Finally in the early 80s, the NCAA decided to hold a women's championship and most schools moved over to that. But RU delayed a year and won the very last AIAW national championship, defeating Texas (IIRC) in the final.

If any of this is incorrect, I hope that some of the other old-timers will correct me!

SUE WICKS....the best RUWBB player ever..
...

 

[BeKnighted]

. . . even Montclair State, who had one of the early big stars of women's bball (whose name escapes me at the moment).

The Blaze - Carol Blazejowski, also the former president of the New York Liberty.

 

[Knight Time Fan]

While you have a good memory of the early programs, La Tech and ODU stand out for transitioning from the (very) early years.

Delta State, Queens College and Immaculata rapidly went to lower competition levels, Cheney survived a short while longer before leaving D1 (hence, CVS participating in the first Final 4).

La Tech and ODU remained at a D1 level and enjoyed success until what we now call the Power Conference schools got involved.

As to JMU - oh what we don't know:

- began competing in WBB in 1920; while they only played a few games each year, that many extra years of 2-7 wins probably helps
- the head coach in the 1970's was the late Betty Jaynes. She was one of the WBCA founders and it's long time leader.

 

[Scarletwoman]

While you have a good memory of the early programs, La Tech and ODU stand out for transitioning from the (very) early years.

Delta State, Queens College and Immaculata rapidly went to lower competition levels, Cheney survived a short while longer before leaving D1 (hence, CVS participating in the first Final 4).

Thank you Knight Time Fan for this info.

La Tech and ODU remained at a D1 level and enjoyed success until what we now call the Power Conference schools got involved.

As to JMU - oh what we don't know:

- began competing in WBB in 1920; while they only played a few games each year, that many extra years of 2-7 wins probably helps
- the head coach in the 1970's was the late Betty Jaynes. She was one of the WBCA founders and it's long time leader.

 

[BeKnighted]

La Tech and ODU remained at a D1 level and enjoyed success until what we now call the Power Conference schools got involved.

Both La Tech and ODU kept it up for quite a while - The Lady Techsters were in the Final Four in 1998 and 1999, made the regional final in 2000 and 2001, and were in the Sweet 16 in 2004; the Lady Monarchs were in the Final Four in 1997, the Elite 8 in 2000 and 2002, and the Sweet 16 in 2008.

 

[RUWESTIES]

I think that Douglass had a team for a few years in the late '50s/early '60s.

The program started in 1974 under Ellen Johns. The team played less than a dozen games. I remember Charlotte Walker, Sue Phillippe and Joan Duda from that team. My roommate's sister was a reserve on that team and the next year's team. I was in the pep band and it felt like I spent more time in the Barn than anywhere else even though we didn't play at the women's games.

The next year I think that the coach was Dot McCrea. I think that the team played a few more games and had a losing record.

Grentz was hired in 1976.

Some of the players I remember from 1976-1980 are
Sandy Turpurins
Kathy Glutz
Denise Kenney
Joanne Burke
Patti Sikorski
Kris Kirchner
June Olkowski
Patty Delehanty
the Coyle twins

 

[BeKnighted]

Some of the players I remember from 1976-1980 are
Sandy Turpurins
Kathy Glutz
Denise Kenney
Joanne Burke
Patti Sikorski
Kris Kirchner
June Olkowski
Patty Delehanty
the Coyle twins

Very cool. These names are still on a lot of the RU career best lists.

 

[ecojew]

The Blaze - Carol Blazejowski, also the former president of the New York Liberty.

Ah, The Blaze. How could I have forgotten her? Thanks.

 

[ecojew]

While you have a good memory of the early programs, La Tech and ODU stand out for transitioning from the (very) early years.

Delta State, Queens College and Immaculata rapidly went to lower competition levels, Cheney survived a short while longer before leaving D1 (hence, CVS participating in the first Final 4).

La Tech and ODU remained at a D1 level and enjoyed success until what we now call the Power Conference schools got involved.

As to JMU - oh what we don't know:

- began competing in WBB in 1920; while they only played a few games each year, that many extra years of 2-7 wins probably helps
- the head coach in the 1970's was the late Betty Jaynes. She was one of the WBCA founders and it's long time leader.

"Oh what we don't know" is right! That is amazing that JMU would have had a women's program back that far. Did it start out as a women's college? I really didn't think that women were even permitted to participate in competitive sports so far back. Thanks for the info.

 

[TAWRUReady]

"Oh what we don't know" is right! That is amazing that JMU would have had a women's program back that far. Did it start out as a women's college? I really didn't think that women were even permitted to participate in competitive sports so far back. Thanks for the info.

Yes, I did a little investigating on the JMU athletics webpage. Their media guide has a bunch of info.
But even that didn't have the definitive answer so Google is our friend. Turns out that it was a "Normal College" for women before it became Madison College and then JMU. Meaning it was a teachers college back in the day.
Interestingly, they have a long history playing the University of Richmond and Radford University (the other RU on the east coast).
This was of interest because obviously they had opponents and I was trying to figure out who they played back in the '20s, '30s and '40s. I only saw one YWCA listed - but schools like Mary Washington, Mary Baldwin, and Longwood played them back in the day and they still play Richmond which means a long long history with that school.
Now the question is what type of rules were in place - was this the 6 person team, with an offense/defense and only 2 players allowed to cross the center line? (Like I played in junior high school...) Don't know that one either and this gets in the realm of the history of women's basketball. The Boneyard has an expert or two on that, I believe. But I don't go there.
There are a lot of teams ahead of RU on the total victories list but I think Douglas college history does not get credited to RU.

Go RU! Beat LSU!

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

SUE WICKS....the best RUWBB player ever..
...

SUE WICKS...the best RUBB player ever...

/FIFY :sunglasses:

 

[ecojew]

I'm pretty sure that Radford was a women's college in the 1960s, when I was at Rutgers College, so that might explain the games with JMU when it was still a women's college.

IIRC, Douglass College was a part of Rutgers from its inception in 1918. I remember the year because its 50th birthday was one of three major anniversaries - along with the University bicentennial in 1966 and the football centennial in 1969 - that spanned my four-year undergrad career. So it was in fact a part of Rutgers, RU should make a case for counting the wins during the period when Douglass fielded its own team. They could point to other former women's colleges that now operate under different names.

 

[NickyNewark51]

SUE WICKS...the best RUBB player ever...

/FIFY :sunglasses:

Hard to believe she was going to Queens College until CVS found her playing with guys on a LI playground whilst on a recruiting trip looking at lesser talent and closed her...can't believe how much recruitings changed in 30 yrs...wow i'm getting old...lol...

 

[TAWRUReady]

Hard to believe she was going to Queens College until CVS found her playing with guys on a LI playground whilst on a recruiting trip looking at lesser talent and closed her...can't believe how much recruitings changed in 30 yrs...wow i'm getting old...lol...

Wicks played for Grentz. Wicks and Sticks (Regina Howard) in the 1980s. CVS was not at RU at the time.
CVS has had some outstanding recruits but not Sue Wicks, although Wicks was an assistant coach for Stringer for a year or two.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

Wicks
Howard
Malouf
...and the two others from that epic starting 5...the 30-3 team...so dominant...