Cheyney State University will finally be recognized for its place in women's basketball history this weekend.
Cheyney University (now Cheyney University) is the nation's oldest HBCU. The school's women's basketball team was the only HBCU to reach the NCAA Final Four (1982), but lost to Louisiana Tech in the national championship. Cheney, led by Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer, is also believed to have been the first all-black coaching staff to appear in the women's national championship game.
Chaney will be honored with the 2024 Trailblazer of the Game award by the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Debra Walker, a forward on the 1982 team, said the recognition means someone is still fighting for them.
“We're pioneers because they told us we couldn't do it,” Walker said.
The credit was overdue, but Walker didn't care. She believes that “everything happens in divine order and in divine time.” As women's basketball continues to grow in popularity and prominence, there's no better time than now to remind everyone of the history they made in the first-ever Women's NCAA Final Four.
“You always have to talk about the first thing,” Walker said. “You can't talk about the NCAA Final Four without talking about Chaney. If they had talked about us sooner, we might have been forgotten by now. But now is the time. I think it's time. What happens this weekend and beyond.”
Ten of the 11 members of the 1982 team are still alive, and seven of them arrived in Knoxville for Saturday's induction ceremony (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Yolanda Rainey, who starred on the 1982 Cheney team, said the recognition means a lot.
“It's good to get flowers while you're still alive,” Rainey said, adding, “It's been 40 years… it's been a long time coming.”
C. Vivian Stringer's Hall of Fame career began at Cheyney State University
C. Vivian Stringer will retire from Rutgers in 2022 with a record of 1,055-426. Her decorated resume includes her four trips to the NCAA Final Four with three different programs (Cheney State, Iowa, and Rutgers).
“Cheney was the first,” Rainey said. “Cheney is where it all started. My teammates told her, she said it too. I know she was built by Cheney. And it all started with Cheney, so we… I know we're the No. 1 team. She won't say that. But we say it for her.”
Stringer coached Iowa from 1983 to 1995, winning six Big Ten regular-season titles in addition to a 1993 Final Four trip.
Iowa State has been in the national spotlight again in recent seasons, with star guard Caitlin Clark appearing in back-to-back national championship games. Walker saw stories about how Iowa women's basketball was never great before Clark.
“Yes, that's right,” Walker said. “So they had to go back and look into it and find out that, no, Iowa was really good at her (under Stringer). If her husband hadn't passed, would Iowa have been in the Final Four?” I think we could have won by two.”
Playing for Stringer taught Walker that life is more than basketball, and that basketball is a tool that shapes who you are. Through basketball, a sisterhood was created with Cheney's teammates.
“She probably doesn't get enough credit,” Walker said of Stringer. “But the fact is, her peers know who she is. And as sad as it is to say this… every time she leaves this side of the world, she You'll get a lot of flowers and people will say, “I'm not.'' “I know.'' And that's okay. ”
When Dawn Staley wore Yolanda Rainey's Cheney State jersey
Walker's cell phone started exploding during the University of South Carolina's second-round game in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. When she answered the phone, she was told to turn on the South Carolina game.
So she turned to ABC and saw Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley on the sideline, wearing Laney's Cheney State jersey. Staley sparked national buzz for his 1982 Cheyney State University team during his March Madness period.
“So when people saw Cheney, they said, What is Cheney? Who is Cheney?” Walker said. “And she talked about why she wore it. It meant so much to us. To this day, people still say they want the jersey… It meant the world to us.” Did.”
That night, Laney called Staley. She said she didn't know they would send Staley a jersey and was very surprised.
Afghan women:'No one cared about us': Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors Afghan women in Knoxville
“She just said it was the right thing to do and it was long overdue for us to see the history we made 40 years ago come to light,” Rainey said.
Rainey sometimes sees her jersey pop up now. She saw some at the men's Final Four and some at the New York Liberty game when she went to see her daughter Betnija Rainey Hamilton, a forward for Liberty, play.
“It meant a lot,” Rainey said. “She brought a lot of light to Cheney's history.”
Cora Hall covers women's athletics at the University of Tennessee. Email cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow us on Twitter @corahall. If you enjoy Cora's coverage, please consider a digital subscription for full access.