Class of 1999 – Page 3 – Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Jody Conradt

Became the first female collegiate coach to reach the 700-win plateau
Record for 24 seasons at the University of Texas stands at 607-161 while her overall mark, which includes stints at Sam Houston State and Texas-Arlington, is 724-223
Guided Texas to an NCAA title in 1986 as the Longhorns went 34-0, becoming the first NCAA Division I women’s team to post a flawless record
Dominated Southwest Conference play from 1978 through 1990, winning 183 consecutive league games
Directed the U.S. team to a gold medal at the 1987 Pan American Games
Voted National Coach of the Year three times (1980, 1984, 1986)
Has registered 30-plus win seasons nine times and 20-plus win seasons 20 times
Has also served as women’s athletics director at the University of Texas since 1992

Has provided distinguished leadership to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
Has served on the NAIA’s Division I National Tournament Committee and National Division of Competition Committee
Has also been District Basketball Chair and District Basketball Rater and a member of the District Executive Committee
Is a member of the NAIA’s Kodak All-America Selection Committee
Has compiled a 571-182 record for a .758 winning percentage during her 28-year coaching career at Midland Lutheran (Neb.) College
Has guided teams to the NAIA playoffs four times, finishing fourth in 1985
Has served on USA Basketball’s Olympic Selection Committee

One of the game’s most prolific scorers, appropriately known as “The Blaze”
Tallied 3,199 points during a phenomenal collegiate career at Montclair (N.J.) State College from 1974-78
Three time Kodak All-America selection (1976, 1977, 1978) and the first-ever recipient of the Wade Trophy as the 1978 women’s collegiate player of the year
Earned a gold medal at the World Championships and a silver medal at the Pan American Games in 1979
Selected to the 1980 Olympic Team, which boycotted the XXIInd Olympiad in Moscow
Played with the New Jersey Gems of the Women’s Basketball League (WBL) and was the league’s leading scorer in 1980-81
Still holds women’s collegiate scoring average records for a career (31.7 ppg) and a season (38.6 ppg)

Often referred to as “the mother of women’s basketball”
Pioneered women’s basketball as director of physical education at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
Modified the original rules of “Basket Ball”, invented by Dr. James Naismith at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College), for her female classes as a means of exercise, stressing socialization and cooperation rather than competition
Served as Chairperson of the Women’s Basketball Committee for 12 years
Authored and developed the first basketball guide for women

Played on Soviet National Teams, which won four European Championships (1950, 1952, 1954, 1956)
Coached Soviet teams to gold medals in both the 1976 and 1980 Olympics
Guided the Soviet team to five FIBA World Championship titles (1964, 1967, 1971, 1975, 1983)
Registered 12 European Championships and 17 USSR National Championships
Was undefeated in international play for 17 years