Women's basketball at the University of Iowa began in 1974, under head coach Lark Birdsong. The Hawkeyes finished 5–16 that season, getting their first win over Big Ten rival, Minnesota. Birdsong would continue to coach Iowa until the 1978–1979 season, the first winning season in Iowa women's basketball history.[1] Judy McMullen replaced Birdsong, and after coaching at Iowa for four seasons, McMullen was replaced by C. Vivian Stringer in 1983.[1] Prior to her tenure at Iowa, Stringer coached at Cheyney University, and took the school to new heights when she led the Wolves to the national championship game in 1982.[2]
Beginning with the 1983–1984 season, Stringer coached at Iowa for 12 seasons. In that time, the Hawkeyes won six Big Ten championships, played in nine NCAA Tournaments, and reached the Final Four in 1993. Unprecedented attention was shown to the Hawkeyes under Stringer,[2] as evidenced by the record-setting 22,157 fans that watched Iowa play Ohio State on February 3, 1985, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.[3] Stringer, however, left Iowa to coach at Rutgers in 1995, following the death of her husband, Bill.[4]
Angie Lee replaced Stringer, and led the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten championship in her first season. Under Lee, Iowa won another Big Ten title in 1998, but success began to wane soon thereafter. Lee's successor as head coach was Lisa Bluder, who remains as Iowa's current women's basketball coach. Under Bluder, the Hawkeyes have won one regular season Big Ten championship and two Big Ten Tournament championships.[1] The 2008–2009 season will be her ninth season as head coach.
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Women's Basketball: Year-By-Year Results Iowa Sports Information, HawkeyeSports.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 C. Vivian Stringer Rutgers Athletics Communications, ScarletKnights.com. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.
- ↑ Carver-Hawkeye Arena: Celebrating 25 Years. Iowa Sports Information, 2008.
- ↑ COLLEGE BASKETBALL: A Coaching Legend Comes Home; Personal Loss Spurs Stringer's Move to Help Rutgers Rebuild Claire Smith, The New York Times, December 10, 1995. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.