C. Vivian Stringer, head
coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for the past 25 years, is calling it a
career. All told, she will leave the game with 1,055 wins, four Final Four appearances
and 28 berths in the NCAA tournament.
"I am officially announcing my retirement," said
Stringer in prepared remarks. "My life has been defined by coaching and
I've been on this journey for over five decades. It is rare that someone gets
to do what they love for this long and I have been fortunate to do that. I love
Rutgers University for the incredible opportunity they offered me and the
tremendous victories we achieved together.
She started her career in 1972 at Cheyney State before
moving on to Iowa in 1983. She had been the coach of RU since 1995.
"Coach Stringer's impact has been felt across our
campuses, around the state and throughout the nation. She is an icon
whose accomplishments on and off the court are as remarkable as they are
inspiring," said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway in a statement
released by the school. "Naming the court at one of the most notable
venues in college basketball after her is a fitting and indelible tribute to
one of the greatest coaches of all time," he added.
Stringer won 535 games with the Scarlet Knights while
qualifying for 17 NCAA Tournaments, including 10 consecutively from 2003 to
2012. Stringer led Rutgers to a pair of Final Four appearances in 2000 and
2007, with the latter culminating in RU's first NCAA Championship Game.
She is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and
was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in April 2009.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Fifth all-time in wins (all divisions) with 1,055 career victories
• First coach (men's or women's) to lead three different schools to the NCAA
Final Four (Cheyney 1982; Iowa - 1993; Rutgers - 2000, 2007)
• Fifth women's coach to reach 1,000 career wins
• Fourth women's coach and seventh coach all-time (men's or women's) to
register 900 wins
• Third women's coach to record 750, 800 and 850 wins
• First African-American Division I coach (men's or women's) to reach 1,000
victory mark
• 28 NCAA Tournament appearances (1982-83, 1986-94, 1998-2001, 2003-2012,
2014-15, 2018-19, 2020-21)
• Nine NCAA Tournament Regional Finals (1982, 1987, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2000,
2005, 2007, 2008)
• 17 All-Big Ten selections, including one Defensive Player of the Year
• 41 All-BIG EAST honorees, including four Defensive Players of the Year
• Nation's best defensive team in 1981, 1983 and 1993
• Nation's second-best defensive team in 1985, 2005, 2006 and 2008
• 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 Pennsylvania AIAW state champions