PISCATAWAY, N.J. (November 6, 2009) – Rutgers University head women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer will be honored prior to her team’s contest versus Stanford on Sunday, Nov. 15. The game is scheduled for a 2:06 p.m. tip at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Stringer, the first coach to take three different teams to the NCAA Final Four, was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
Entering her 39th season overall and 15th at Rutgers, Stringer is ranked third in career victories (825) in Division I women's basketball history and was the third woman and eighth D-1 coach overall (men or women) to reach the 800-victory plateau when she did so in February 2008.
A 2001 inductee into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, Stringer has led three programs to 22 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, which includes 10 trips to the regional final. She also made her sixth appearance on a USA Basketball coaching staff in 2004, serving as an assistant coach for the gold-medal 2004 U.S. Olympic Team.
Rutgers is offering “Hall of Fame Specials” for the Sunday afternoon contest. A Family Four pack (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas) is available for $40. General admission tickets are priced at $10 while faculty and staff can obtain tickets for $5. Group rates are also available. Fans can purchase tickets through the Rutgers Athletics ticketing web site at http://tickets.scarletknights.com. You may also purchase in person at the RAC or by calling 866-445-GoRU (4678).
There will be several special giveaways for Scarlet Knights fans to honor their Hall of Fame coach. A free t-shirt commemorating Stringer’s Naismith honor will be given to the first 1,000 fans while a commemorative Hall of Fame card, schedule posters and magnets will be given to all those in attendance.
‘Hall of Fame’ Specials – Nov. 15, Rutgers vs. Stanford
• $10 General Admission Tickets
• $ 5 Faculty/Staff Tickets
• Group Rates- 10-49, tickets $8 each; 50 or more, $5 each
C. Vivian Stringer – Career Highlights and Milestones
• First coach to lead three different schools to the NCAA Final Four (1982 -- Cheyney, 1993 -- Iowa, 2000, 2007 -- Rutgers)
• National Coach of the Year, 1982, 1988, 1993
• Third-winningest women’s coach all-time, 825 wins
• Eighth coach all-time -men’s or women’s - to record 800th career victory
• First African-American Division I coach – men’s or women’s to reach 800 wins
• Has Led three teams to 29 20-win seasons in her first 38 years
• Has appeared in 22 of 28 NCAA Tournaments, including 10 regional finals
• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, 2001
• Assistant Coach, U.S. Olympic gold-medal winning team, 2004
• Named one of 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports, 2003
• Named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America, 2007
• International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame, 2006
• Nation’s best defensive team in 1981, 1983 and 1993
• Nation’s second-best defensive team in 1985, 2005, 2006 and 2008
• Assistant coach, 2004 Olympic Team, gold medal (Athens, Greece)
