Grounded in IHM tradition and charism since 1920. Before we send you to , pleasesubscribe to our daily newsletter. Their achievements are recognized by many in this Mighty Mac Tribute Video. The AIAW women's basketball tournament was a national tournament for women's collegiate basketball teams in the United States, held annually from 1972 to 1982. For more information about the 50th-anniversary event, e-mail lszyjka@immaculata.edu. "It's insane what they did, winning three championships and having no money," said Hayek, who grew up in nearby Lancaster, and was a star basketball player in the area before earning a scholarship to Miami. Find out what an IU education can do for your mind, your character and your future. Even then, only eight of the 11 players could go, flying standby. But Sister Mary of Lourdes, the Immaculata president, organized fund-raising efforts for the "Mighty Macs" women's basketball team so that players could be flown to Illinois. It never did happen. The most comprehensive, authoritative reference source ever created for the Philadelphia region. Seeded fifteenth in the 1972 national tournament, the team almost did not make the trip to Illinois because of the cost. Basketball brought the Immaculata community together, and Immaculatas success showcased the high quality of basketball played by Philadelphias Catholic schools. 1145 W KING ROAD Chestnut Hill College. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata University's women's basketball team etched their name into sports history as the first women's college basketball national champions. The following season the Mighty Macs went undefeated. Even then, only eight of the 11 players could go, flying standby. Her stint at the small Catholic school for women lasted only seven seasons, but her footprint on the game of women's basketball is still evident today. Among them, Marianne (Crawford) Stanley (b. I was a senior at Immaculata in 1972 and winning the championship that year is something I will never forget. Rush (2000), Grentz (2001), and Stanley (2002) have also been inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame. Their Cinderella story was made into a Hollywood movie, The Mighty Macs. Forty years ago this month, the women's basketball team of Immaculata College, as it was known then, won the first women's national basketball championship and won it again in 1973 and 1974. In the championship game against old nemesis West Chester (which had sent its third team to play the Macs during the regular season), Immaculata rose to the occasion and avenged the 32-point regional loss a week earlier with a 52-48 victory. [1][2] The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years. The 1972 victory is now a landmark moment in the history of college sports: the Mighty Macs were an underdog team from a small womens college in suburban Philadelphia with a gym that burned to the ground years before. 1000 Hall of Fame AvenueSpringfield, Massachusetts 01105. They left and then added to the game and that to me is an incredible legacy for them.". They handily defeated their first two opponents, Indiana State (59-48) and Western Washington (66-53,) by more than ten points. "They hate being called the pioneers of women's basketball, so I like to call them catalysts. Named PA Superintendent of the Year. Some of her star players went on to become successful womens college basketball coaches. The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. From 1972 to 1977, the Rush-led Macs appeared in six straight AIAW Final Fours. Immaculata experienced its initial taste of athletic victory in 1946 when an unwavering group of early Macs defeated the Temple Women's Basketball team to win the Mythical City Championship of Philadelphia. After the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (CIAW) experimented with full-court basketball during the 1969-70 and 1970-71 seasons, womens college basketball officially changed in 1971 with the formation of the AIAW, and the game transitioned from the half-court game (three players on each side) to the full-court game with five players on the court. West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Follow Backgrounders on Twitter Immaculata entered the tournament as the second-place team from the east behind West Chester State after losing to the Golden Rams 70-38 in the regional final. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, 11 remarkable young women and their coach from immaculata college achieved the impossible, winning the first-ever national womens college basketball championship, and against all odds, capturing the title again in 1973 and 1974. Now, the Maggie Dixon Classic is annually held there, drawing over 15,000 fans last season. Angela Johnson Anne Hurley Bev Barnes Beverley Bland Carol Turney Chris Critelli Coleen Dufresne Donna Hobin Joanne Sargent Joyce Douthwright Sheila Strike Sylvia Sweeney Head Coach: Brian Heaney Czechoslovakia [ edit] The following players represented Czechoslovakia: [4] Boena Miklooviov Dana Ptkov Hana Douov Ivana Koinkov Coach Cathy Rush was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, and the 1972-1974 national championship teams were inducted in 2014. Rush and her Mighty Macs paved the way for the great teams to follow, winning the next two titles and appearing in five of the first six championship games. Duquesne (19-10, 9-7), which saw its four-game home win streak snapped in a 71-67 Senior Day defeat at the hands of Davidson on Sunday, plays its final regular season home game vs. Massachusetts (14-14, 5-11) on Wednesday, Mar. The Mighty Macs and their legendary coach, Cathy Rush, will celebrate this milestone with members of the campus community, the current womens basketball team, and Tim Chambers, director of The Mighty Macs. Theresa (Shank) Grentz (b. Immaculata University, coached by Hall-of-Famer Cathy Rush, was crowned national champion at the conclusion of the tournament. Theresa Grentz was a Mighty Macs player who was part of all three Immaculata AIAW championship squads. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. The players crowded four to a room and washed their wool uniforms in hotel sinks. This team from a small, Catholic women's college outside Philadelphia garnered national recognition for women's basketball and women's collegiate sports. Each game was close, as Immaculata won two of its first three games by a three-point margin and defeated Indiana University by a single basket. The Mighty Macs were not favored to win the championship, but the women showed determination and knocked their first three opponents out of the tournament en route to the finals. "They won against the odds, and that is what we are celebrating here today," said Sen. Andrew Dinniman (D., Chester), sponsor of a Senate proclamation recognizing the team's achievements. The story of the precocious Macs (not yet anointed with the mighty designation that would soon become part of their nickname forever) and their implausible run to the first of three consecutive national championships needs not be retold here in detail because, as monstrous as that title was, it became but a small part of the schools bequest to womens college basketball. Degrees & Programs Canterino also played for Immaculata from 1989-92 and makes sure that the current athletes are aware of the team's storied past. Though her team has no gym and no uniforms -- and the school itself is in danger of being sold -- Coach Rush looks to steer her girls to their first national championship. The Mighty Macs, as a 15th-seed,. 1972-bracket 1972 Tournament AIAW National Tournament Consolation Winner: Queens College Consolation Runner-up: California State-Long Beach 16 teams California State-Fullerton California State-Long Beach* Illinois State Immaculata Indiana (or Indiana State?) The Mighty Macs finished the season 24-1. Those schools were going to attract the better players. In 2014, the Mighty Macs were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Mighty Macs championship teams legacy has not gone unnoticed in the world of sports. [3][4][5][6], The AIAW tournament was discontinued after the NCAA began sponsoring a women's collegiate basketball tournament in 1982. And then, in the blink of an eye, they vanished from the national scene -- a casualty of Title IX, which required colleges to offer women athletic scholarships. Copyright 2023 American Community Journals, LLC |, Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. History. She won an eye-popping 91 percent (149-15) of her games over her tenure at Immaculata, including coaching the first undefeated national champion in 1973. "I said we needed to give scholarships and they said we don't want to be a jock school.". MapIMMACULATA UNIVERSITY ft. of basketball history. In the first game, the Macs overcame South Dakota State 60-47, then defeated Indiana University (49-47) and the Mississippi State College for Women (46-43). Once money played a major role in women's sports, the champs of women's basketball suddenly couldn't compete. 1952) coached Rutgers to the 1981 AIAW national championship, and Rene (Muth) Portland (1953-2018) coached for twenty-seven seasons at Penn State University. I was a senior at Immaculata in 1972 and winning the championship that year is something I will never forget. They defeated South Dakota State University (60-47), Indiana State University (49-46), Mississippi State School for Women (46-43), and finally regional rival West Chester University, 52-48. In the spring of 1972, still a few months before the passage of Title IX, Immaculata College won the first of three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championships. Isabela Bloomquist had a hat trick by the end of the opening quarter as she netted a career-high seven goals to lead the Garnet. They won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. The 1972 victory is now embedded in the history of college sports: the Mighty Macs were an underdog team from a small womens college in suburban Philadelphia, whose gym burned to the ground years before. "I was 25 at the time and thought they were so wrong, but they were so right," she said. Best known for its annual marquee Enshrinement Ceremony honoring the games elite, the Hall of Fame also operates over 70 high school and collegiate competitions annually throughout the country and abroad. "They were a team that was way ahead of their time. The women had to sell toothbrushes to fund their trip to Illinois for the first womens national collegiate championship tournament. City of Champions is the title of a mural painted in 2015 on the side of Spikes Trophies at 2701 Grant Avenue in Philadelphia. Quaker Media, 2009. Other players became doctors, teachers, philanthropists, or businesswomen. To think that 11 young women and their equally young coach raised the profile and changed the perception of womens sports is amazing. Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy, TheEncyclopedia "I think of colleges today that don't draw 3,000-4,000 to their games," she said. Financial Aid, MapIMMACULATA UNIVERSITY The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield Massachusetts honors players who have shown exceptional skill at basketball After that victory, the Immaculata team returned to the AIAW finals for the second year in a row. Members of the Mighty Macs 1972 championship team in attendance on Monday included Sue Forsyth O'Grady, Denise Conway Crawford, Theresa Shank Grentz, Betty Ann Hoffman Quinn, Judy Marra Martelli, Janet Young Eline and Patricia Mulhern Loughran. Rush and Immaculata were trailblazers. Find out what an IU education can do for your mind, your character and your future. California residents do not sell my data request. The Mighty Macs honor role includes Head Coach Cathy Rush and players Janet Ruch Boltz, Denise Conway Crawford, Janet Young Eline, Theresa Shank Grentz, Nancy Johnston, Barbara Deuble Kelly, Tina Krah, Patricia Mulhern Loughran, Judy Marra Martelli, Maureen Mooney, Sue Forsyth OGrady, Patricia Opila, Rene Muth Portland, Betty Ann Hoffman Quinn, Mary Scharff, Marianne Crawford Stanley, Maureen Stuhlman and Marie Liguori Williams. During March 14-20, the entire campus community will celebrate the Mighty Macs with various events and displays depicting the teams achievements. Sixteen teams participated. The current Mighty Macs also honor Rush every year when they wear pink jerseys with her name on the back in their annual Pink Zone game in February. OR call toll-free: In 1972, the Immaculata Womens Basketball program faced financial struggles that almost kept the team from competing in the AIAW national tournament in Illinois. The all-girls Catholic school just outside of Philadelphia had virtually no money. Schedule a Visit The Immaculata College womens basketball teams of the early 1970s, known as the Mighty Macs, won the first three national tournaments of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) in 1972, 1973, and 1974. "If we could do it, they can do it.". Immaculata University, coached by Hall-of-Famer Cathy Rush, was crowned national champion at the conclusion of the tournament. Copyright 2023 American Community Journals, LLC |, Discover more about the championship Mighty Macs. Stay tuned for live updates to follow. The Mighty Macs finished the season 24-1. The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. The Mighty Macs continued their dominance, reaching the Final Four in the following three seasons, placing second in 1975 and 1976 and fourth in 1977. "They elevated women's sports to a whole new level.". The Mighty Macs were also part of the first nationally televised game in 1975, playing Maryland. Although the last AIAW champion was decided 18 years ago, the league played. Players trained by running to gain endurance, and during the 1971-72 season the training paid off. The 1975 and 1976 teams also reached the finals, losing to Delta State University in Mississippi both years. They defeated South Dakota State University (60-47), Indiana State University (49-46), Mississippi State School for Women (46-43), and regional rival West Chester University (52-48). In the spring of 1972, still a few months before the passage of Title IX, Immaculata College won the first of three consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national championships. Immaculata shocked the world of college sports, and the rest is history!. And that it happened at Immaculata University, which supported these students on the court and in the classroom, is beyond amazing, said Immaculata President Barbara Lettiere. Several players continued their love of the game by becoming high-profile professional and collegiate coaches making their mark from the sidelines. The success of the Mighty Macs built upon a tradition of basketball at Immaculata that began in 1939 and drew skilled Philadelphia area female basketball players to its all-womens campus. Boxscore Women's Basketball at Trine University March 4, 2022 7:00 P.M. Women's Basketball // W 70 - 57. Winning the championship that year is something I will never forget sell toothbrushes to fund their trip Illinois... Then, only eight of the game immaculata women's basketball 1972 roster that to me is an incredible legacy for them..... 1977, the Maggie Dixon Classic is annually held there, drawing over 15,000 fans last season new level ``... 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