Inductees

Interested in the Trailblazers of the Game recipients?

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Christine Grant

Categories: Class of 2017
  • Grant became the first women’s athletic director at the University of Iowa (1973-2000)
  • Director of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women at the University of Iowa, which included 12 NCAA championship sports that won a combined 27 Big Ten conference titles
  • National Administrator of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (1992)
  • Ontario Sports Award for Outstanding Contributions to Canadian Amateur Sport (1970)
  • NCAA Honda Award of Merit (1998)
  • Inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame (2006)
  • Inducted into the NACDA Hall of Fame (2008)
  • Member of the Board of Directors of the USA Field Hockey Foundation
  • Founding member of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW)

Christine Grant

Grant became the first women’s athletic director at the University...

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Kara Wolters

Categories: Class of 2017
  • Gold medalist in the Olympics (2000)
  • Gold medalist at the World University Games (1997), World Championships (1998), and US Olympic Cup (1999)
  • WNBA Champion with the Houston Comets (1999)
  • Guided the University of Connecticut to its first NCAA National Championship victory (1995)
  • All-Final Four Team and averaged 20.5 ppg in the Women’s Final Four (1995)
  • Victor Award as the nation’s top female collegiate player (1996)
  • AP National College Player of the Year and was runner-up for the Naismith National Player of the Year (1997)
  • 4x Big East All-Tournament Team
  • Holds the rebounding record (1286) and shot’s blocked record (396) at the University of Connecticut
  • Wolters is one of only a few players to receive a gold medal in the Olympics, an NCAA Championship and a WNBA Championship

Kara Wolters

Gold medalist in the Olympics (2000) Gold medalist at the...

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Louise O’Neal

Categories: Class of 2017
  • O’Neal was the women’s basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut (1962-1976)
  • She revolutionized the women’s basketball program there, elevating it from a club sport to a varsity sport in the 1970s
  • Former president of the Eastern Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
  • WBCA Jostens-Berenson Lifetime Achievement Award (2004)
  • Served in several national leadership positions, including NCAA Long-Range Planning Committee, Women’s Basketball Rules Committee, Sears Cup Selection Committee and NACDA Executive Board
  • Junior Select Team Head Coach for USA Basketball that captured gold (1979)
  • Eight straight appearances in the National Women’s Collegiate Championships, and was the only school to qualify for each of the first eight championships
  • She coached two players (Mary Anne O’Connor and Sue Rojcewicz), who played on the 1976 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team
  • Inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (1988), and she was inducted into the Southern Connecticut Hall of Fame (2001)
  • NACWAA Lifetime Achievement Award (2011)

Louise O’Neal

O’Neal was the women’s basketball head coach at Southern Connecticut...

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Rick Insell

Categories: Class of 2017
  • Insell has over 40 years of experience coaching women’s basketball
  • Over 1,000 victories between both Shelbyville Central High School and Middle Tennessee State University
  • From 1977 to 2005, as head coach at Shelbyville Central High School, he led his teams to 21 District Championships, 14 Regional Championships, 5 State Runner-ups, 10 State Championships, 2 USA TODAY National Runner-ups, and 2 USA TODAY National Championships
  • Posted a .842 winning percentage at Shelbyville High School with an overall record of 686-129
  • Holds Tennessee State records for consecutive wins with 110 and consecutive State Championships with four
  • USA Today National High School Coach of the Year (1989, 1991)
  • Selected by USA Basketball as head coach of the South Region in Youth Development Festival (2002)
  • First high school team to be honored by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame as Team of the Year (1990)
  • WBCA National High School Coach of the Year (1992)

Rick Insell

Insell has over 40 years of experience coaching women’s basketball...

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Sally Bell

Categories: Class of 2017
  • Began officiating high school basketball (1975), moved on to NAIA and NJCAA games (1979), and first officiated Division I and II games (1981)
  • Officiated 15 NCAA Division I Women’s Final Fours, including 13 consecutive (1993-2004)
  • Officiated the Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996)
  • Naismith College Women’s Basketball Official of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club (1991)
  • Coordinator of Women’s Basketball Officials for six different conferences (Atlantic Sun, OVC, SEC, Southland, SWAC, Sunbelt)
  • Officiated the World Championships held in Malaysia (1990)
  • Served as a member of the U.S. Olympic Selection Committee for officials from (1996-2004)
  • Officiated the Goodwill Games (1994) and the World University Games (1993)
  • Inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame (2012)

Sally Bell

Began officiating high school basketball (1975), moved on to NAIA...

Ready to walk through history?

Come experience the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and let’s bring the story of women’s basketball to life!

ready to walk through history?

Come experience the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and let’s bring the story of women’s basketball to life!

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