Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S. women's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal in 1988 despite having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987. In 2000, Yow was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame.

In April 2010, CollegeInsider.com created a new award called the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Award in her honor. It is presented annually to the women's college basketball head coach who displays great personal character on and off the court.

Education and coaching career

Yow received her Bachelor of Science degree in English from East Carolina University in 1964, she was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. After graduation she worked as an English teacher, librarian and girls' basketball coach at Allen Jay High School in High Point, North Carolina. She then earned her Master's degree in Physical Education from UNC-Greensboro in 1970 and then took the position of women's athletics coordinator and women's basketball coach at Elon College.

In 1975, Yow became NC State's first full-time women's basketball coach and also coached women's volleyball and softball. She led the women's basketball team to an ACC championship in the first season of league play in 1978. On February 5, 2007, she reached the 700-win milestone for her career with a 68–51 win over Florida State University. At the time of her death, she ranked as the fifth winningest active NCAA Division I women's basketball coach. In recognition for her dedication and success, Yow was selected for induction into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on June 5, 2002, the fifth female coach to be selected. On February 16, 2007, the basketball court at Reynolds Coliseum was renamed Kay Yow Court in her honor. On July 11, 2007, Yow received the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance, an award named for fellow NC State basketball coach and friend Jim Valvano. She received a standing ovation.

Yow also coached the silver-medal-winning U.S. women's basketball team in the 1981 World University Games; the 1986 gold-winning U.S. teams in the Goodwill Games and the FIBA World Championship; and the gold-medal-winning U.S. women's basketball team in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

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| style="text-align:center; font-size:100%; background:silver; color:black;"|ACC Regular Season Champion||

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| style="text-align:center; font-size:100%; background:gold; color:black;"|ACC Tournament Champion||

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| style="text-align:center; font-size:100%; background:red; color:black;"|ACC Regular Season and Tournament Champion||

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Personal life

Yow lived in Cary, North Carolina.

Yow and her two sisters are natives of Gibsonville, North Carolina. They were all three active in collegiate sports. Deborah Yow was the athletic director at North Carolina State University, and Susan Yow coached women's basketball at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Kansas State University, Drake University, East Tennessee State University, Providence College, and Belmont Abbey College. Susan Yow was in her second season as head coach at Belmont Abbey College. Susan served as an assistant coach for two now-defunct WNBA teams, the Charlotte Sting and the Cleveland Rockers. In 2006, Susan was named as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Lynx, but resigned along with head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio on July 23, 2006.

After her 1987 breast cancer diagnosis, Yow became active in raising awareness as well as money to battle the disease. In 2007, the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund was instituted by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the V Foundation for Cancer Research, of which she served on the board of directors. Her cancer recurred in November 2004 and she began radiation treatments the following month after having surgery.

Death

Yow had been on a leave of absence from coaching since early January 2009 because of her disease. She died from stage 4 breast cancer on January 24, 2009, in Cary, North Carolina. In her obituary, the Charlotte Observer said, "Yow never lost her folksy, easygoing manner and refused to dwell on her health issues, though they colored everything she did almost as much as basketball. Ultimately, her philosophy on both were the same." More than 1,400 people attended the funeral on January 30 at Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, as Yow thanked her supporters on the video.

  • 1988—Carol Eckman Award
  • 2007 — Jimmy V ESPY Award for Perseverance
  • 2009—FIBA Hall of Fame

See also

  • List of college women's basketball career coaching wins leaders

References

  • North Carolina State coaching profile
  • Oral History Interview with Sandra Kay Yow at Oral Histories of the American South