Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009)
Sandra Kay Yow, better known as Kay Yow, was the head coach of the NC State Wolf pack women’s basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins.
In 1964 Yow received her Bachelor of Science degree in English from East Carolina University. After she graduated she was an English teacher, librarian and girls’ basketball coach at Allen Jay High School in North Carolina. In 1970 she went on to earn her Master’s degree in Physical Education from the UNC-Greensboro and then took the position of women’s athletics coordinator and women’s basketball coach at Elon College.
In 1975, Kay Yow became North Carolina State’s first full-time women’s basketball coach. She was also the coach of the women’s volleyball and softball teams. While coaching multiple sports, her dedication to basketball was proven in 1978, when she led the women’s basketball team to an ACC championship in their first season of league play. Yow was also the coach of the silver-medal-winning U.S. women’s basketball team in the 1981 World University Games, the 1986 gold-winning U.S. teams in the Goodwill Games and the FIBA World Championship, and the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s basketball team in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
She reached the 600-win milestone for her career with a 71–64 win over Temple University on January 11, 2001. A few years later, on February 5, 2007, she reached the 700-win milestone for her career with a 68–51 win over Florida State University.
After a lifetime of coaching, Yow had to take a leave of absence in early January 2009 because of stage 4 breast cancer. Sadly, she passed away on January 24th, 2009. At the time of her passing, she ranked as the 5th active most winnings NCAA Division I women’s basketball coach. In honor of her dedication and success, Sandra Yow was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on June 5, 2002. She was only the fifth female coach to ever be selected. On February 16, 2007 the basketball court at Reynolds Coliseum was renamed Kay Yow Court at Reynolds Coliseum in her honor. On July 11, 2007, Yow received the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance. She received a standing ovation.
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