The “For the Love of the Game” award recognizes individuals who exemplify extraordinary courage and provide inspiration to the game of women’s basketball. The award is voted on by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors. Each recipient is an exceptional example of how passion and bravery can transform into a meaningful legacy, inspiring the next generation that anything is possible.
Lauren Hill
2016 Recipient
- Lauren Hill was diagnosed with a rare terminal brain tumor called DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma)
- Hill played college basketball for Mount St. Joseph University
- She played in four games at MSJU and was a first team All-HCAC recipient
- Lauren helped raise over 1 million dollars for The Cure Starts Now Foundation to help research a cure for pediatric brain cancer
- In 2015, Lauren passed away and posthumously received the first For the Love of the Game award at the 2016 WBHOF Induction Ceremony
Dust Bowl Girls
2023 Recipient
- After the stock market crash in 1929, an Oklahoma school system administrator named Sam Babb became the first full-time coach of the Oklahoma Presbyterian College Cardinals, an AAU women’s team in the Dust Bowl region of the United States
- Between Babb’s strenuous training and the team’s undeniable talent, they became trailblazers in the making
- From March 1931 to March 1934, the team won 89 consecutive games along with two national championships
- During their legendary three-year run, they went on a barnstorm basketball tour in the South, where they won 15 games in 21 days
- In a time where women’s sports experienced multiple social, political and economic barriers, these women transcended them all to pursue their love of basketball
Afghan Resettlement Project
2024 Recipient
- In 2021, the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan and began violently targeting female athletes
- To escape this oppressive regime, eleven athletes, one male coach and a husband fled their homeland. According to the Taliban, their crimes were: being women, loving basketball, and pursuing education
- While staying at a refugee camp in Shengjin Albania for 19 months, Dr. Sarah Hillyer, Michelle Marciniak and Mara Gubuan began devising a plan for their legal resettlement in Knoxville
- After months of advocacy and fundraising plans, the Afghan refugee group was granted with legal resettlement status in Knoxville
- They now have jobs, educations and opportunities to play basketball through the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi Community College