WORCESTER, Mass. – The women’s basketball program at the College of the Holy Cross is one of two inaugural recipients of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame’s Scholar-Athlete Program of Excellence Award. The new award recognizes New England college basketball programs which encourage classroom achievement, athletic success, and post-graduate career success.
Holy Cross and women’s basketball coach Bill Gibbons share the honor with the men’s basketball program at Amherst College, coached by Dave Hixon.
Both coaches will accept the prestigious award during the 2006 New England Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct. 6 at the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island.
“This is the most important award we have ever given at the New England Basketball Hall of Fame,” said Daniel E. Doyle, Jr., executive director of the Institute for International Sport, which administers the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
“All too often, a number of college athletes leave school without the skills required by a global economy,” Doyle said. “For this reason, it’s extremely important to recognize intercollegiate basketball programs which are committed to developing the whole person and not just the athlete. Based on all of the factors we considered, we concluded that there are no finer intercollegiate basketball programs in America than the Amherst men and the Holy Cross women.”
Doyle noted that under the leadership of coaches Gibbons and Hixon, the graduation rates of both programs are nearly 100 percent.
In Gibbons’ 21-year tenure, the Holy Cross women’s program has compiled a record of 429-197. The team has gone to 12 post-season tournaments.
Many players in the women’s basketball program have gone on to successful, varied careers, including:
- Lauren Maney George, class of ’96, who graduated with a grade point average of 3.65 while racking up 1,721 points on the court, who is now an attorney working as a forensic auditor for the federal government.
- Monika Rothemich, class of ’01, the only Holy Cross basketball player, male or female, to compete in four NCAA Tournaments, who is currently a medical student at Georgetown University.
- Janet Hourihan Brooks, class of ’86, who holds the record for rebounds as a Crusader, with 1,178, who is a corporate human resources executive.
- Dr. Kathleen Courtney, class of ’97, one of the 15 COSIDA Academic All-Americans at Holy Cross in Gibbons’ tenure, who is a pediatrician practicing in Winchester.
Presentation of the Scholar-Athlete Program of Excellence Award will be one of the highlights of this year’s induction ceremony, which is expected to draw approximately 1,000 people to the Kingston campus of URI on Oct. 6. For more information, visit the institute’s Web site.
