» back to all coaches The Stringer File The master builder of basketball programs, Rutgers head coach and Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Fame inductee C. Vivian Stringer has catapulted three different programs from obscurity to national prominence in her three decades as a head coach.

The latest example of her unique set of skills and vision has come in the form of the Scarlet Knights, who reached their first-ever NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2000 in only Stringer’s fifth year “On the Banks.” The only coach in men's or women's basketball to take three different schools to the Final Four (Cheyney University in 1982 and The University of Iowa in 1993), she has been a pioneer, visionary and innovator during her 31 seasons on the sideline.

The fourth winningest coach in women's basketball, she has compiled a 674-227 (.748) overall record and a 154-92 (.626) mark in her eight seasons at Rutgers. Stringer joined elite company by becoming the third women’s coach to win 650 career games when RU defeated Seton Hall Jan. 23, 2002. Her 600th victory on Dec. 18, 1999, was a 68-64 triumph against visiting Texas. What made that win even more special was that it came against Texas head coach Jody Conradt, one of the two other coaches at that time to have accumulated 600 career wins.

Named one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports” by Sports Illustrated in 2003, Stringer has led her teams to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, including five of the last six years, and has coached in six regional finals. This past season, she engineered the most dramatic turnaround in Division I, improving from a 9-20 record in 2001-2002 to a 21-8 mark and a trip to the 2003 NCAA Tournament’s second round. For her efforts, she was recognized as a finalist for the Naismith National Coach-of-the-Year Award.

The Road To Rutgers
Stringer began her teaching and coaching career at Cheyney, a small, historically-black school outside of Philadelphia, PA, in the early 1970s. Even before the seeds of Title IX had truly started to take root nationally, Stringer and her Wolves were playing to packed houses and creating a name for themselves on the East Coast. In 1982, the NCAA sponsored its first-ever national championship for women’s basketball, and Cheyney did the unthinkable by advancing to that first Final Four, losing to Louisiana Tech in the championship game. For Stringer and her charges, Cheyney’s postseason run put the small university on the national map, as well as on par with the national powerhouse programs.

Following 11 successful and fulfilling seasons at Cheyney, Stringer sought out a new challenge and found that opportunity at The University of Iowa. Beginning with the 1983-84 season, Stringer built a program that helped elevate women’s basketball to a whole new level. The Hawkeyes generated unprecedented amounts of attention, including women’s basketball’s first-ever advance sellout. Stringer’s hard work and dedication culminated in Iowa’s trip to the 1993 Final Four, a feat that made Stringer the first coach in history to lead two different schools to the national semifinals.

Success Comes Quickly To “the Banks”
Stringer arrived at Rutgers in July of 1995 armed with little else than her belief in the program’s potential, calling it the “Jewel of the East” upon her hiring. After two years of gathering materials and going over blueprints, Stringer saw her plans begin to come together in 1998 when her team, filled with nine freshmen and sophomores, posted its first 20-win season in four years (22-10), winning the BIG EAST 7 title with a 14-4 regular-season record. Following their first-ever BIG EAST crown, the Scarlet Knights gave a hint of what was to come when freshman Tasha Pointer made two late free throws to lift RU to a 62-61 win at Iowa State and advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.

As if mapped out in the plans, Rutgers continued its steady progression in 1999, advancing to the Elite Eight before bowing out to the eventual national champion for the second consecutive year. The Knights compiled a 29-6 overall record and a 17-1 mark in conference play to share the BIG EAST regular-season title, then upset No. 2 Texas Tech 53-42 in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

Tabbed as the number-one team in the nation in the Street & Smith’s 2000 Preseason Poll, Rutgers lived up to its billing as one of the premiere programs in the country, finishing the season with a 26-8 record, a 12-4 slate in the BIG EAST and a spot in its second BIG EAST Tournament championship game in three years. With their 59-51 upset of top-seeded Georgia in the NCAA Tournament West Region final, the Scarlet Knights advanced to their first-ever NCAA Tournament Final Four. For Stringer, who had declared her vision five years earlier of leading Rutgers to the 2000 Final Four in nearby Philadelphia, there was a sense of accomplishment in fulfilling her dreams of making Rutgers a national contender.

Stringer’s plans continued to pay dividends during the 2000-2001 season as the Scarlet Knights were consistently ranked among the top 15 teams in the country, handing eventual national champion Notre Dame its first of only two losses of the season (54-53, Feb. 17). RU lost to eventual Final Four participant Southwest Missouri State in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, marking the fourth straight year that a Stringer-led team lost in the NCAA Tournament to a team that advanced to at least the national semifinals.

With four starters and five seniors gone, a group that helped form the nucleus of the 2000 Final Four team, the young Scarlet Knights struggled through inexperience and injuries to post a 9-20 mark in 2001-2002. However, Stringer’s youthful charges bounced back, producing the best turnaround in Division I last seson with a 21-8 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament’s second round. Led by a woman known for her ability to transform and recreate programs, the Scarlet Knights’ resurgance should not have been a surprise to anyone who has followed the game over the last three decades.

Attract The Best, Play The Best, Be The Best
Stringer and her staff knew when they arrived that they needed to attract the best student-athletes in the country to “the Banks,” and they have assembled top recruiting classes from the start. RU’s current juniors comprised a class ranked first nationally by the Womens Basketball News Service, while the current sophomores were ranked 13th by the All Star Girls Report. Five of Stringer’s recruits -- Shawnetta Stewart, Usha Gilmore, Tammy Sutton-Brown, Tasha Pointer and Davalyn Cunningham -- were selections in the WNBA Draft, while current junior Cappie Pondexter came to Rutgers as the Parade and WBCA National High School Player of the Year.

One of Stringer’s strongest beliefs is that one must play the best in order to be the best. Being a member of the BIG EAST Conference, the winner of the last four national championships, affords the Scarlet Knights a high level of competition on a daily basis. In addition, Rutgers has played some of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules year in and year out since Stringer’s arrival, a fact proven by RU’s top-20 strength of schedule last season. This winter will be no different as the Knights’ non-conference slate features Tennessee, LSU, Ohio State and the Preseason WNIT.

Defense Wins Championships
Rutgers’ success since Stringer’s arrival has been due, in a large part, to aggressive and intense defense. The trademark of Stringer teams has always been a suffocating brand of half-court defense, often switching and disguising multiple looks throughout a game to keep the opponent off-balance. The most famous, or infamous if you are a Scarlet Knight opponent, has been the match-up zone, a system perfected by Stringer and her long-time friend, Temple head coach John Chaney. In addition, Stringer has employed numerous full-court traps and presses, most notably the “55,” to often leave RU’s opponents feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

During the Final Four season of 2000, opponents scored just 54.4 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the nation. The following season, RU allowed 56.5 points to rank sixth, holding 17 of its 31 opponents to 55 or fewer points. Most recently, Rutgers tied for 14th nationally by allowing 57.0 points per game during the 2002-2003 season, forcing an average of 17.7 opponent turnovers per contest. In addition, RU’s +6.3 rebounding margin was the 23rd-best mark in the country last season.

The Extended Rutgers Family
It’s not just about the success on the floor for the Scarlet Knights. Stringer’s programs have always had the feel of a family, but that family extends beyond the confines of the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Community involvement has been an important part of extending that family, whether it be conducting free basketball clinics for local children, visiting with the young and old at local hospitals and centers, emphasizing the importance of education through the “RU Reading Into The Game” program, or lending support to Rutgers-based charities and events. The Scarlet Knights have become more than students and athletes during their careers -- they have become citizens and role models as well.

That public visibility and involvement has, in turn, caused the community to embrace the Scarlet Knights and lend them support at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Rutgers set a school record with an average of 4,080 fans per game, the 21st-best mark in the nation, during the 2000-2001 season. RU recorded its largest crowd in history to see a women's home game when 8,587 fans witnessed the Knights’ victory against the nation's number-one team, Notre Dame, on Feb. 17, 2001. Last season, that trend continued as four of the home crowds ranked among the top 50 in school history.

Accolades and Achievements
In recognition of her many accomplishments and service to the game, Stringer was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame June 9, 2001, in Knoxville, TN. When one looks at her plaque, a pattern quickly develops -- three programs, three Final Fours, three national coach-of-the-year awards and three decades as one of women’s basketball’s leading voices for equality, innovation and growth.

Stringer has been named the National Coach of the Year three times (Wade Trophy -- 1982, Converse -- 1988 and Naismith -- 1993) by her peers, an honor that is the pinnacle of achievement in her book. She also was named the 1993 Coach of the Year by Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Converse, the Los Angeles Times and the Black Coaches Association; the 2000 Female Coach of the Year by the Rainbow Push Organization, a group founded by Rev. Jesse Jackson; the District V Coach of the Year in 1985, 1988 and 1993; the District I Coach of the Year in 1998; the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1993; the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 1998; and the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association and New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. One of her most personally-gratifying accolades is the 1993 Carol Eckman Award, which acknowledges the coach demonstrating spirit, courage, integrity, commitment, leadership and service to the game of women’s basketball.

A finalist for the Naismith National Coach-of-the-Year Award four times during her tenure “On the Banks,” Stringer was honored by the U.S. Sports Academy when the organization decided to name its annual women’s coaching award in her honor. The C. Vivian Stringer Medallion Award of Sport for Women’s Coaching was handed out for the first time in July of 2002. Most recently, she was recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.”

In addition to her extensive collegiate experience, Stringer also has successfully tested herself in the international arena. She led the United States to a bronze medal at the 1991 Pan-American Games in Havana, Cuba, coached the United States in the 1989 World Championship Zone Qualification Tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and coached the United States entry to the 1985 World University Games in Kobe, Japan. Stringer coached in Mexico in 1979 and toured China in 1981 as head coach of the United States Select Team.

A noted administrator, Stringer was one of the key players in the development of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. She currently is a voting board member of the Amateur Basketball Association of the United States and the Nike Coaches Advisory Board. In the past, Stringer has served as a member of the Kodak All-America Selection Committee and was elected to the Women's Sports Foundation Advisory Board.

A native of Edenborn, PA, and a member of the Alumni Hall of Fame at her alma mater, Slippery Rock University, Stringer and the late William D. Stringer have three children -- David (8-1-79), Janine (9-14-80) and Justin (4-19-84)

Stringer Alumnae
C. Vivian Stringer has made dreams come true for many of her former players and assistant coaches, helping them make a career out of basketball.
Some have played professionally, whether overseas or in the WNBA, while others have followed Stringer into the coaching ranks or into administrative roles with professional and college teams.

On to the Pro Ranks
Katie Abrahamson New Zealand
Lisa Becker International
Shanda Berry Long Beach Stingrays (ABL),
International
Dana Boonen* Belgium, Spain
Jen Clemente Portugal
Davalyn Cunningham* Orlando Miracle (WNBA), Portugal
Nadine Domond Sacramento Monarchs (WNBA)
Michelle Edwards Seattle Storm (WNBA), Italy
Simone Edwards* Seattle Storm (WNBA),
International
Toni Foster Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
Usha Gilmore Indiana Fever (WNBA)
Tiffany Gooden Colorado Explosion (ABL)
Angela Hamblin Detroit Shock (WNBA)
Tia Jackson Phoenix Mercury (WNBA)
Yolanda Laney New Jersey
Jolette Law Harlem Globetrotters
Cathy Marx France
Franthea Price Sacramento Monarchs (WNBA)
Jolynn Schneider International
Stephanie Shuler International
Tangela Smith Sacramento Monarchs (WNBA)
Tammy Sutton-Brown* Charlotte Sting (WNBA), Korea, Russia
Molly Tieback Belgium
Necole Tunsil France

On the Sidelines
Katie Abrahamson* Head Coach,
Southwest Missouri State
Lisa Becker Athletes in Action
Jennifer Bednarek Assistant Coach, Syracuse
Marianna Freeman Head Coach, Syracuse
Usha Gilmore Assistant Coach, Wagner
Felicia Hall Dir. of Business Operations,
Charlotte Sting (WNBA)
Tia Jackson* Assistant Coach, UCLA
Lynn Kennedy New Jersey Nets
Marketing Office (NBA)
Susan Koering* Assistant Coach,
Missouri-Kansas City
Karen (Clayton) Lange* Assistant Coach, Virginia Tech
Jolette Law* Assistant Coach, Rutgers
Angie Lee* Assistant Coach, Virginia Tech
Cathy Marx Assistant Coach, Butler
Shannon Perry* Assistant Coach, USC
Stephanie Shueler* Assistant Coach, Buffalo
Lisa Stone* Head Coach, Wisconsin
* indicates currently at specified location

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