Legendary Rutgers WBB Coach C. Vivian Stringer to Retire

After 50 years on the sidelines and more than 1,000 victories, the Hall of Fame coach has decided to step away from basketball.

Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer announced her retirement after 50 years in college basketball on Saturday.

She had 1,055 wins — fourth all-time among Division I women’s basketball coach. Stringer also had four Final Four appearances and reached the NCAA Tournament 28 times while leading Cheney State, Iowa and Rutgers. Stringer was emotional when she told her team Friday night on a Zoom call.

After 50 years and 1,055 wins, @cvivianstringer will retire from coaching, effective Sept. 1.

It is impossible to find the words right now to sum up what you mean to us and to the game, but we'll start with two:

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒀𝒐𝒖

We love you, Coach.

📰 https://t.co/o37BXjOebn pic.twitter.com/l96DjhY43b

— Rutgers W.Basketball (@RutgersWBB) April 30, 2022

“I am officially announcing my retirement,” said Stringer. “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.”

Stringer had coached at Rutgers since 1995, winning 535 games there. She led the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA title game in 2007 before they lost to Tennessee.

The school’s other appearance in 2000 made Stringer the first men’s or women’s coach to guide three different programs to the Final Four after playing in the first NCAA title game with Cheyney State in 1992. She led Iowa to the national semifinals in 1993.

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