C. Vivian Stringer Recognized with Naismith Lifetime Contribution Award
Hall of Fame Women’s Basketball coach C. Vivan Stringer is being recognized for her lifetime contribution to the game with 2024 Naismith Award. She along with former UCLA legend, NBA Champion and broadcaster Bill Walton, will receive the Naismith Award for lifetime contributions.
In a statement issued by the Naismith Awards, Stringer said:
“College basketball has been my passion throughout a long and satisfying coaching career. The blessings of this coaching life have been seen in countless ways through my family and several generations of student athletes, all women who shared my love of the game and took great pride in representing their schools – – Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, the University of Iowa, and Rutgers University.
“These same women have grown into fine professionals in their own right, including so many who have gone on to compete in professional basketball leagues. The honor of the 2024 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women’s Basketball award acknowledges what I have worked to achieve.
“I am so grateful for this special recognition and am, likewise, humbled by it. If I represent the tenets of the award, ‘character, integrity, and dignity,’ I hope that I have shared the same with my players and coaching staffs over the years. They continue to inspire and uplift me.”
Stringer owns 1,055 victories in her coaching career, and is Rutgers all-time leader in wins with 535. Under her stewardship, Rutgers women’s basketball qualified for 17 NCAA Tournaments, including 10 straight appearances from 2003 to 2012. Stringer led Rutgers to Final Four appearances in 2000 and 2007.
In 2009 she was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the same class that included Michael Jordan, John Stockton, David Robertson and former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloane.
