RALEIGH, N.C. — Her resume had almost everything a coach could want, from conference titles and NCAA Tournaments to an Olympic gold medal and more than 700 career victories.
Yet Kay Yow was about so much more than basketball.
The North Carolina State coach was a symbol of hope and courage even as she faced the cancer that ultimately took her life Saturday morning after a two-decade fight. She inspired people who never met her or cared about the sport, even the fans at rival schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
But that coaching success almost became an afterthought.
“Kay showed us how to handle one of the most difficult things — cancer — in the most dignified and courageous manner,” Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said in a statement. “She used every ounce of energy she had left to give to those young ladies. She was and will always be an inspiration to so many people.”
Yow, first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, died at WakeMed Cary Hospital after being admitted last week, university spokeswoman Annabelle Myers said. Yow was 66.
A public viewing is scheduled for Friday morning in Cary, followed by the funeral that afternoon. The Wolfpack’s game at Wake Forest on Monday was moved to Feb. 10.
“Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Kay Yow has a heavy heart today,” North Carolina State athletic director Lee Fowler said in a statement.
Yow coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 1988, won four ACC Tournament championships, earned 20 NCAA Tournament bids and reached the Final Four in 1998. She also was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002, while the school dedicated “Kay Yow Court” at Reynolds Coliseum in 2007.
There were moments of silence to honor Yow before several basketball games Saturday, including before the N.C. State-Boston College men’s game in Boston. Duke — one of N.C. State’s closest ACC rivals — also honored Yow before its men’s game against Maryland.
“God bless Kay,” Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “A fighter until the end.”
Head of the class
Most victories among women’s basketball coaches, with a minimum 10 seasons in Division I:
Coach, school Wins
1. x-Pat Summitt, Tennessee 998
2. Jody Conradt, Texas 900
3. x-C. Vivian Stringer, Rutgers 815
4. x-Sylvia Hatchell, N. Caro. 801
5. x-Tara VanDerveer, Stanford 739
6. Kay Yow, N.C. State 737
7. x-Andy Landers, Georgia 719
8. x-Robin Selvig, Montana 715
9. Sue Gunter, LSU 708
10. Rene Portland, Penn State 693
x-active
Note: Through Saturday’s games
