Cathy Rush, Immaculata Started a Revolution in Women’s Basketball. Their Impact on the Sport Still Resonates Today

By

Cathy Rush
Image via Jessica Griffin, Philadelphia Inquirer.
Cathy Rush.

Despite retiring from coaching in 1977, former Immaculata women’s basketball coach Cathy Rush’s impact on the sport resonates to this day, writes Mike Sielski for the Philadelphia Inquirer

Rush coached Immaculata to three national championships in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. At the time, the AIAW (not the NCAA) was the governing body for women’s collegiate sports.

Rush and Immaculata won their first championship three months before Title IX was signed into law. Before she was 30, Rush had guided the Mighty Macs to six consecutive AIAW Final Fours. 

She retired from coaching in 1977 after winning 149 games and losing only 15 at Immaculata. She decided to focus on raising her two sons.

In 2018, Rush was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Her Immaculata teams were inducted in 2014, and their story was even depicted in the 2009 movie The Mighty Macs

Read more about Cathy Rush in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Connect With Your Community

Subscribe to stay informed!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Advertisement
Creative Capital logo