Another Mighty Macs championship-winning player, Marianne Crawford Stanley, also went on to coach NCAA womens basketball and professional basketball for the Womens National Basketball Association. She was inducted into the womens Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Yet despite those and many other hardships, the 23-year-old Rush coached her team to a spot in the first-ever women's national college tournament in 1972. The players crowded four to a room and washed their wool uniforms in hotel sinks. I didn't see that.". 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. Pre-NCAA statistics, based on AIAW Archives, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.[8]. They left and then added to the game and that to me is an incredible legacy for them.". ofGreaterPhiladelphia. For more information about the 50th-anniversary event, e-mail lszyjka@immaculata.edu. After that victory, the Immaculata team returned to the AIAW finals for the second year in a row. The Mighty Macs finished the season 24-1. Thats Normal, in Illinois, home of Illinois State University, site of the 1972 national basketball championships. Other players became doctors, teachers, philanthropists, or businesswomen. Immaculata shocked the world of college sports, and the rest is history!. Inquirer Published Mar 13, 2012 Published March 13, 2012 Other players became doctors, teachers, philanthropists, or businesswomen. For more information about the 50th anniversary event or to interview any of the Mighty Mac players, email lszyjka@immaculata.edu. In 1972 Immaculata University was a small women's college in suburban Philadelphia, whose gym burned to. 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. Overall, she guided the Mighty Macs to 6 consecutive final four appearances in her seven seasons with the college, attaining a 149-15 record. 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. 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. Those schools were going to attract the better players. "It would have been huge for us.". 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. Degrees & Programs The Mighty Macs took the basketball world by stormwinning the next two national championships as well. Immaculata couldn't afford to send everyone -- despite fundraising with toothbrush sales and raffles, so three players were left behind. At the time Rush was disappointed by the school administration's decision to not offer scholarships, but as she says, it was just the arrogance of her youth. IMMACULATA, PA. 19345, Phone1-610-647-4400 The 1972 Immaculata women's basketball team. Basketball brought the Immaculata community together, and Immaculatas success showcased the high quality of basketball played by Philadelphias Catholic schools. The host site was Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. 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. From 1972 to 1977, the Rush-led Macs appeared in six straight AIAW Final Fours. "They were a team that was way ahead of their time. They won their first three games, then defeated archrival West Chester for the national championships. 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. West Chester University of Pennsylvania. I was really happy being a mom.". MapIMMACULATA UNIVERSITY Follow The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia on Instagram On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata Universitys womens basketball team etched its name into sports history as the first womens college basketball national champions. The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. PHILADELPHIA -- Long before Tennessee and Connecticut, Immaculata College was the original women's basketball dynasty. Sister Mary of Lourdes (1915-2005), the college president, persuaded each of the trustees to pay for plane fare for one player. The Mighty Macs winning history has also reached the silver screen. 1 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). 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. In 1972, the Immaculata Womens Basketball program faced financial struggles that almost kept the team from competing in the AIAW national tournament in Illinois. Although the last AIAW champion was decided 18 years ago, the league played. "I think of colleges today that don't draw 3,000-4,000 to their games," she said. [1] [2] [3] [4] The team won two additional titles in 1973 and 1974. History. Immaculata University, coached by Hall-of-Famer Cathy Rush, was crowned national champion at the conclusion of the tournament. On Sunday, March 19, 1972, Immaculata University's women's basketball team etched its name into sports history as the first women's college basketball national champions. [3] [4] [5] [6] History [ edit] To honor the 50th anniversary of that first championship, Immaculata is recognizing members of all three national championship teams during a campus celebration on Friday, March 18 from 12-3 PM. "They still come to the game and sit in that same section right by the door as you come in.". 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 2001, Theresa Grentz was inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame. The 1972 Immaculata women's basketball team. O God of Players: The Story of the Immaculata Mighty Macs. The third season saw Immaculata extend her winning streak to 35 games, and with a 68-53 win over Mississippi College, the Macs claimed their third national championship. 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. The film focuses on their rise to prominence and their struggles as underdogs in womens basketball. But no film can quite capture what an underdog that team was. Once money played a major role in women's sports, the champs of women's basketball suddenly couldn't compete. Schedule a Visit To raise money, players sold toothbrushes. [1][2] The winners of the AIAW tournaments from 1972 to 1981 are recognized as the national champions for those years. The Dukes, who are in the hunt for an Atlantic 10 Championship double bye, began the week in a . The highlight during the early years was defeating the Temple Owlettes in 1946, winning the unofficial City Championship and handing Temple its first defeat in four years. The Mighty Macs went 24-1, with their only loss to West Chester in the regional finals. Rush is a breast cancer survivor. To think that 11 young women and their equally young coach raised the profile and changed the perception of womens sports is amazing. Sixteen teams were invited to the tournament following qualifying rounds played on college campuses (except 24 teams were invited for the 1980 and 1981 tournaments). Chestnut Hill College. 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). Sixteen teams participated. 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?) Elizabeth Zack and Emma Holub also collected hat tricks with four and three goals, respectively. DVD distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2012. 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. (); : The Mighty Macs were also part of the first nationally televised game in 1975, playing Maryland. The country had nine regions, but the Eastern regional was subdivided in a Region 1A and a Region 1B. ); The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy. During March 14-20, the entire campus community will celebrate the Mighty Macs with various events and displays depicting the teams achievements. The women had to sell toothbrushes to fund their trip to Illinois for the first womens national collegiate championship tournament. "So many things have changed, per diems, strength coaches, academic advisers, your own jet for travel. "I said we needed to give scholarships and they said we don't want to be a jock school.". The Mighty Macs, as a 15th-seed, upset three teams to reach the finals in Illinois. Jan 13 (Sat) W, 63-57. 1000 Hall of Fame AvenueSpringfield, Massachusetts 01105. 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. The following season the Mighty Macs went undefeated. Other players became doctors, teachers, philanthropists, or businesswomen. 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