Feb. 14, 2011
Illinois State ebat Missouri State, 78-59, in its annual Pink Game Saturday, Feb.12. Redbird Arena was highlighted with Redbird in pink uniforms and fans in pink t-shirts to promote the fight against women's cancers. The game held special meaning for Illinois State head coach Stephanie Glance, who spent 15 years coaching alongside Kay Yow at North Carolina State. Coach Yow battled cancer for more than 20 years and her name has become synomous with the women's basketball community's efforts for raising money for cancer research.
Coach Glance sat down with Illinois State Assistant Media Relations Director Jimmy Knodel to talk about her time with Coach Yow, her courageous fight against cancer and the impact her life has had on the cause. Enjoy a GoRedbirds.com exclusive video and story remembering the great Kay Yow.
REMEMBERING KAY YOW
Pink has become the rallying color behind the fight against cancer. Throughout February, college basketball teams across the country add pink flair to their uniforms, shoes and arenas to show support for the cause. The movement has grown into a revolution, gaining in popularity and exposure every season. The driving force behind the pink explosion is the story of Kay Yow, a matriarchal women's basketball coach with nearly four decades of experience as one of the game's best. For many of those years, Illinois State head coach Stephanie Glance was right by her side. In their time together, Yow taught Glance about much more than X's and O's.
Kay Yow is a legend by every definition of the word. She is one of only six women's basketball coaches to win over 700 games, led the United States to the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Glance joined the N.C. State coaching staff in 1994, fulfilling a lifelong dream of the North Carolina native to work with the coach she admired as a child. She attended Kay Yow basketball camps growing up.
"I had been coaching for about six years when she hired me at N.C. State as a coach and recruiting coordinator," Glance said. "When she called me to invite me for an interview, I knew who it was right away because she has such a distinct Southern voice. Just to have her invite me for an interview was great, but to think I might get the job was above and beyond. I was thrilled when she offered me the job, but I knew there was a lot of work ahead of me. I knew I was going to embark on one of the most meaningful opportunities of my life."
Yow had established N.C. State as a premiere women's basketball program before Glance came on board, but together, the duo led the Wolfpack to new heights. In 15 seasons together, Yow and Glance guided N.C. State to 285 wins and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1998 Final Four.
Yow's success as a coach was only part of her legendary life. Her courageous battle with cancer lasted more than two decades and she continues to be the inspiration for cancer research fundraising in women's basketball. Yow was first diagnosed with cancer in 1987 and went into remission until 2004, which she was able to fight off yet again.
The biggest struggle came during the 2006-07 season, when the disease came back strong enough to force her to take a leave of absence from the team. Coach Glance took over as interim head coach during that time, facing the challenge of keeping the team focused on basketball when faced with more pressing issues. The way Coach Yow handled the adversity set an example for Glance and the team.
"She was so even-keeled and had such great perspective when sharing news about her illness with the players and coaches," Glance said. "She told the players she was taking a leave of absence the day before we were set to leave for a game at Arizona around Thanksgiving. It was a very emotional moment, one none of us will ever forget, but Coach Yow's outlook gave us all hope."
While the team wasn't sure if its coach would return at all that season, Yow's resilience did not keep her away from the game she loved for long, as she was back coaching by the end of January. Excited and inspired, the Wolfpack went on a memorable run to close out the season. N.C. State won its final home game over No. 2 North Carolina, after which the court at Reynolds Coliseum was renamed Kay Yow Court. The Wolfpack then beat No.1 and previously undefeated Duke in the ACC Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Glance attributes the Wolfpack's success to not only their talent, but also the motivation that Coach Yow's battle with cancer provided.
"The players wanted to play hard for her. They saw her struggle and fight, so they wanted to be just as strong as she was," Glance said. "The practice before the senior night game against North Carolina, Coach Yow was taken out of the gym in an ambulance. Even while the coaches and medical staff were attending to her on the sideline, the team never stopped practicing. Coach Yow always stressed communication, so the players just talked more and got louder. They said it was the only thing they thought they could do to help her. No one talked about it before hand, they just did it."
Yow coached through the beginning of the 2008-09 season, but her condition worsened in December and she did not return to the sidelines after Christmas break. She was admitted to the hospital several times and it appeared as though her time was running out. Even in her final days, Coach Yow found the strength to inspire her players once more.
"The team had experienced her absences before, so there was always hope that she would be coming back. The coaching staff kept the team going as normally as possible, but there came a time when we knew she probably wasn't going to be able to make it through. She was becoming weaker every day," Glance said. "We brought the team to the hospital to visit her, telling them she may not be strong enough to really interact with them. When we walked in, Coach Yow was sitting up in a chair and she had a conversation with every single person. She gave that last gift to those players and they left the hospital encouraged and inspired. She passed away just three days after that."
Kay Yow passed away Jan. 24, 2009. Five days later, thousands gathered at her funeral in Raleigh to celebrate her remarkable life. Among the attendees were many fellow coaches, including Tennessee's Pat Summitt, Connecticut's Geno Auriemma, North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell and Virginia's Debbie Ryan.
"Even in college athletics, one of the most competitive environments there is, Coach Yow had no enemies," Glance said. "She always said that she competed with other coaches, not against them. Coaches across the country had so much respect and admiration for her."
Women's basketball and the fight against cancer came together in an influential way through Kay Yow. Not one for self-promotion, Yow agreed to use her name and story to create a cancer fund because she believed it would help unite the women's basketball community for a common good. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund was created and a pink revolution began. Teams across the country, at all levels, began wearing pink uniforms and shoelaces during games in February to support cancer research.
"Coach Yow was one of many basketball coaches who have been affected by cancer or will be affected by cancer," Glance said. "She was willing to carry the banner to unite the sport of women's basketball. The goal is to raise money for grants and research to fight all women's cancers. We have been able to raise a lot of money for doctors to develop new drugs that will improve the quality of life of cancer patients and hopefully provide a cure in the future."
Kay Yow's story will continue to rouse emotions as the game of women's basketball continues to grow in popularity. Glance knows that the life of this legendary coach will reach much further than just the basketball court.
"Her legacy will always be as a coach, but it will also be as a person who inspired a nation by letting them see her battle this disease so courageously," Glance said. "The humility, grace and faith she showed during that time will inspire others for generations."
