C. Vivian Stringer Interview: Paving the Way for Women in Sports

C. Vivian Stringer recalls the influence of her parents, early experiences with discrimination, and how she went from playing sports to coaching. She emphasizes the importance of pushing young women to lift their heads up, speak their minds, and realize their worth to succeed both on and off the court. Stringer discusses her role as a coach, mentor, and her love for the game of basketball.
C. Vivian Stringer was born on March 16, 1948 in Edenborn Pennsylvania. A coal miner’s daughter, Stringer's parents impressed upon her that with a strong work ethic she could achieve anything. She graduated from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania where she was a four sport athlete. She met her late husband William D Stringer in college. They had 3 children. Stringer was the first men's or women's basketball coach to guide three different programs to the Final Four, bringing national relevancy to each school. She led Cheyney, from 1971 to 1983, to the first NCAA tournament championship game in 1982, when the Wolves fell to Louisiana Tech. At Iowa (1983-1995), she turned the Hawkeyes, who had won just seven games the season prior to her arrival, into a power, propelling them to their first national semifinal game in 1993. She replicated similar levels of success after taking over at Rutgers University in 1995. Rutgers advanced to its first Final Four in 2000 as well as the national title game in 2007, in which it fell to Tennessee. Stringer took the Scarlet Knights to 10 straight NCAA tournaments from 2003 to 2012 while also guiding them to a WNIT title in 2014. Behind her teams' trademark gritty defense, her 37 20-win seasons, the last of which she secured in 2019-20, are the most in NCAA history. She retired in 2022 after 50 years and 1,055 wins as a head coach. Stringer was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
From the 2013 PBS Documentary “Makers: Women Who Make America”, examines how women have helped shape America over the past 150 years, striving for a full and fair share of political power and economic opportunity.
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C. Vivian Stringer, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach
Interview Date: September 28, 2011
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:06 Childhood
13:06 Love of basketball
17:04 Female athletes
20:13 Cheerleading
29:54 Coaching
42:24 Winning & losing
44:07 Rutgers University
49:19 Final Four
01:00:41 Building a team
01:04:34 The Don Imus controversy
01:20:02 Coaching vs. parenting
01:23:04 The women’s movement
01:26:10 Women in college sports
01:29:50 Women’s sports moments
01:32:56 Issues with college athletics
01:36:12 Advice
01:39:56 Q&A
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[@charleneday8114]

Vivian Stringer is my inspiration ❤Thanks for sharing her story.

[@nr30199]

I miss Coach Stringer on the sidelines she is one of my favorite coaches ever. She did everything except win a championship and i REALLY wanted that for her♥️. And although Pat Summitt is my all time favorite coach in any sport I would not have been upset if Rutgers had beat Tennessee in '07 for the chip. I hope she is doing well in her well deserved retirement ♥️🏀