Cathy Boswell, a four-year standout in womens basketball at Illinois State from 1979 to 1983 and former Olympian, and Will Robinson, Redbird mens basketball coach from 1970 to 1975 and the first African-American head coach at a predominantly white Division I university, will be inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2003, at the Sheraton City Center in St. Louis, Mo.
Boswell, a Shorewood, Ill., native, will become the fifith honoree in the Valley to be honored as an Institutional Great. The Institutional Great recognizes standout student-athletes, coaches and/or administrators who competed or worked at a current league school, when the institution was not a member of the league.
A 1983 graduate of Illinois State, Boswell was arguably the greatest womens basketball player ever to compete for the Redbirds. The all-time scoring (2,005) and rebounding leader (1,054) at Illinois State later became a member of the gold-medal winning USA womens basketball team at the 1984 Olympic Games. She also enjoyed a professional playing career in Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and the ABL in the United States.
Boswell was inducted into the Illinois State Hall of Fame in 1995 and is one of only three basketball players in ISU history to have her number (No. 44) retired.
Robinson, a native of Wadesboro, N.C., will be honored as the third inductee in the Valleys Lifetime Achievement category. The Lifetime Achievement category honors, when appropriate, former players, coaches, administrators or alumni who competed, worked or attended a current conference school.
The former coach of Redbird alum and basketball great, Doug Collins, compiled an overall record of 78-51 in his five seasons at Illinois State. He currently works in the front office of the Detroit Pistons, an NBA francise. The former Detroit, Mich., high school basketball icon has an endowed scholarship in his name at Illinois State and is a member of six athletics halls of fame.
Other honorees that will be inducted into the Valley Hall of Fame on March 8, 2003, include: Johnny Bright, a former football standout at Drake; Lew Hartzog, a legendary track and field coach at Southern Illinois; and Bruce Baumgartner, who will also receive the Institutional Great honor for his outstanding wrestling career at Indiana State.
