NC State women's coach Kay Yow dies

Jan 24, 2009 - 7:31 PM RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow died Saturday after a long fight against breast cancer. She was 66.

The Hall of Fame coach had announced January 6 that she was taking a leave of absence for the remainder of the season to address health issues related to her stage-four breast cancer, first diagnosed in 1987.

"Everyone who had the privilege of knowing Kay Yow has a heavy heart today," North Carolina State director of athletics Lee Fowler said. "She was a blessing to many people because of her strong faith.

"She faced every opponent, whether on the basketball court or in a hospital room, with dignity and grace. She will be greatly missed."

Yow first experienced a recurrence of the disease during the 2004-05 season. She was in her 34th season at North Carolina State prior to her leave of absence.

Over her 38 years of coaching, Yow posted a 737-344 career record.

"Coach Kay Yow had a remarkable career in the sport of women's basketball," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "Her resume and associated accolades reveal her professional excellence, but her legacy will be the remarkable impact she had on all with whom she came in contact.

"In sickness and in health, she was a bastion of courage and kindness. Her zest for life and her determination to make a difference in this world have galvanized our profession while inspiring millions."

Yow won more than 700 games over an illustrious career which included four Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships, 20 NCAA tournament bids and an appearance in the 1998 Final Four.

Yow also coached the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in the 1988 Seoul games.

Yow was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2002, and North Carolina State dedicated "Kay Yow Court" in Reynolds Coliseum in 2007.

"We have lost a great person, coach, leader and friend," North Carolina State chancellor James Oblinger said. "Coach Yow's courage, passion for her work, strength and humility despite her personal challenges inspired all of us. She epitomized what a coach and role model should be."

For many fans, Yow was best known by her courage while fighting cancer. She raised awareness and money for research while remaining with her team through the debilitating effects of the disease and chemotherapy treatments.

"She has been such a warrior in terms of her fight and her struggle, but a part of me is just feeling great for her to be going home to a better place for her now," Duke coach Joanne McCallie said. "I've never seen a woman or known a woman to share a story, her story, so eloquently under such incredible conditions. The courage that she showed, a lot of people are afraid. They're afraid to share their story. Kay was never afraid."

The 2006-07 season, her 32nd with the Wolfpack, may have been Yow's most tumultuous, but also perhaps the most rewarding.

Four games into the season, she was forced to take a leave of absence because of progression in her breast cancer. Yow missed roughly two months (16 games) that season, but fought back to make a triumphant return to the bench in a win over long-time rival Virginia on January 26.

"My heart goes out to the Yow family and the N.C. State Wolfpack nation on the passing of a truly remarkable lady and a dear friend in Kay Yow," Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. "In the two decades she fought the disease, Kay never allowed herself to be victimized by cancer. Kay never pitied herself.

"Instead, she tried to bring awareness to the horrible disease that was robbing her of her life. Through her foundation in conjunction with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) - The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, in partnership with The V Foundation for Cancer Research, she did all that she could do to help others. That was just Kay."

The Wolfpack began to feed off the emotional return of Yow, who guided NC State to 10 wins in its next 11 games, including her 700th career victory and a win over No. 2 North Carolina.

That evening on Senior Night, the Reynolds Coliseum court was christened "Kay Yow Court."

"What an impact Kay had on so many," ACC commissioner John Swofford said. "Whether one of her players, an opposing coach, a friend, an associate in the world of sports or one who observed her grace, dignity, elegance, kindness and competitive spirit from a distance, you couldn't help but be touched by her presence in our world. Kay was a very special lady."

In December 2007, Yow established the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation as a charitable organization committed to being a part of finding an answer in the fight against women's cancers through raising money for scientific research, assisting the underserved and unifying people for a common cause.

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Kay Yow. She taught all of us how to handle personal battles with a great deal of grace and acceptance and by believing that God would see us through," Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. "She rarely complained, as most of us would or ever wonder why this had happened to her.

"When I myself was diagnosed with breast cancer, Kay was one of the handful of people I told. I asked her why me? Kay was the person I could best identify with and knew would understand. And she did. I admired that she made her life so open and one day I hoped to do the same to help other women."