[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 3, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE MEMORY OF COACH KAY YOW

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HEATH SHULER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 3, 2009

  Mr. SHULER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Kay 
Yow, one of the highest-achieving college basketball coaches in the 
history of the sport. One of only six Division I head women's 
basketball coaches to achieve 700 career victories, Coach Yow led the 
women's basketball team at North Carolina State University from 1975 to 
2009. She continued her winning coaching career even as she faced a 22-
year battle with breast cancer.
  In 1975, Yow was hired as the head coach of the women's basketball 
program at NC State as well as the head coach of both the softball and 
volleyball teams and the coordinator of women's sports. A female leader 
amidst a mostly male coaching staff, Yow found immediate success as she 
took her first squad to the Women's National Invitation Tournament and 
completed the season with a 19-7 record. Since then, Yow has coached 
some of the nation's most well known players, including WNBA All-Stars 
like Andrea Stinson, Chasity Melvin (NC State's all-time leading 
scorer), Genia Beasley, and current Assistant Coach, Trena Trice-Hill.
  Yow is part of an elite group of eight Olympic coaches chosen to lead 
USA Basketball in the pursuit of an Olympic gold medal in women's 
basketball. Yow served as an Assistant Coach on the 1984 gold medal-
winning coaching staff and three more gold medal-winning teams, 
including the 1979 World University Games, the 1983 Pan American Games, 
and the 1984 R. Williams Jones Cup. Yow also was part of the 1983 World 
Championship club that earned a silver medal.
  She served as Head Coach of the 1988 gold medal-winning Olympic team 
in Seoul, Korea as well as the gold medal winners at the 1981 World 
University Games, the 1986 Goodwill Games and the 1986 World 
Championship Games. She was the first coach to win two Olympic gold 
medals since women's basketball was first included in the Olympics in 
1976.
  In April of 2008, Coach Yow received the Mildred ``Babe'' Zaharias 
Didrikson Courage Award from the United States Sports Academy, 
recognizing her achievements in the face of serious personal 
challenges. Yow missed 16 games during the 2007 season to receive 
treatment for the cancer that was first diagnosed in 1987. Upon her 
return to the team in 2007, she led the Wolfpack on an inspirational 
run to the ACC Championship game and to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA 
tournament.
  Cancer took the life of Coach Kay Yow on January 24, 2009. Throughout 
her life, Coach Yow sacrificed to continuously be a mentor and friend 
to her players and make them the best players they could be. Madame 
Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in expressing remorse at the 
passing of one of North Carolina's greatest coaches, a woman who was 
one of the most admired and respected coaches on the national and 
international scenes. Her perseverance and dedication in the face of a 
deadly battle with cancer is an inspiration to us all.

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