(EDITOR’S NOTE: David Smith ’74, a resident of Lancaster, Pa., attended induction ceremonies Sept. 27 at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Among the inductees was former Elon women’s basketball coach Kay Yow. Below, Smith recalls his memories of Yow’s Elon teams, and reflects on the experience of seeing a fellow alum inducted into the Hall of Fame).
A Look Back
In 1972, Elon College hired Coach Kay Yow as women’s basketball coach. As I prepared to write this article, I pulled out the 1972 Phi Psi Cli (Elon’s yearbook) and the pictures of the women’s basketball team reflect Coach Yow’s trademark intensity. When Elon’s women’s team was on the court, they were nothing but business. The team was a scrappy bunch. Although everyone knew Coach Yow was a tremendous movtivator, did any of us realize just how far she would advance, personally and professionally, or the impact she would have on women’s basketball?
Springfield, Massachusetts, September 27, 2002
Anne Donovan, a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic gold medal team, coached by Kay, introduced her for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Her remarks centered on Kay’s ability to support and improve not just the player, but the person as well. With assistance from Coach Yow’s secretary, who found letters Kay had received from players coached over the years, Donovan shared their thoughts. Each expressed their love and appreciation of Coach Yow’s ability to touch their lives.
Kay’s acceptance speech at the Springfield Civic Center was emotional and deliberate. She portrayed a humble and graceful North Carolina woman, who thanked God and seemed grateful that she came from a small town in North Carolina. Yow spoke of how she shot baskets alone at home as a child and imagined winning championships. I wondered if she was going to make it through her speech, but with every word, she gathered confidence and strength, and much like her coaching, she carried everyone with her.
An alum to be proud of
Kay continues to coach after 32 years of service. Coach Yow was instrumental in transforming women’s basketball, and is the only coach to win both the World Championships (1996) and an Olympic gold medal (1994). Among active women’s coaches she ranks fifth in all-time victories and she is among five coaches who have at least 600 wins. At N.C. State, she has led her team to the NCAA Tournament 16 times in 20 years. She has been named Women’s Coach of the Year twice in her career. The accolades under her picture in the Basketball Hall of Fame go on and on, and so does Kay Yow.
To see Coach Kay Yow’s personal and professional journey from Gibsonville to Springfield leaves me with sincere appreciation and gratitude for both Coach Yow and Elon University. It is, quite simply, a tremendous honor for Elon to have had a coach who is now forever recognized and honored as a Member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
B. David Smith
Lancaster, Pa.
Elon College ‘74