Mercer women enjoyed early success
Women’s college basketball has come a long way during the past 40 years. The new movie “The Mighty Macs,” which opened in theaters last weekend, chronicles tiny Immaculata College’s success in the early 1970s before the major conferences took the sport seriously.
Immaculata, a small women’s college in Philadelphia, was an early pioneer in the women’s game despite having no gym on its campus, a school with financial issues and very little support from the school’s administration. Cathy Rush, who was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008, became the Mighty Macs’ head coach in 1971 and immediately led her team to AIAW national championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
The AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) was the governing body for women’s sports at that time, as the NCAA didn’t take over women’s championships until 1982. The movie is about Rush’s challenges during her first season at Immaculata. Whatever the challenges were, she overcame them and, in her seven years with the Mighty Macs, she compiled a 149-15 record.
Like Immaculata, Mercer was a trailblazer for women’s basketball four decades ago. During the 1970s, the “Teddy Bears” -- as they were known -- compiled a record of 190-66 and were a regional and national power.
Jack Scott, a member of the Mercer men’s basketball team who went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, gave the women the name “Teddy Bears,” and it was used until the 1990-91 season.
In Mercer’s inaugural season in 1970-71 the team finished at just 3-5, but the next year it was 21-1 for head coach Peggy Collins, who served as a part-time coach in addition to her duties as a physical education instructor. In her seven seasons at Mercer, the “Teddy Bears” were 133-33. Collins left Mercer after the 1976 season to take the head coaching position at Mississippi State.
Under Collins, Mercer won AIAW state championships in 1973, 1974 and 1976. Mercer also won the Region III tournament championship in 1973, which gave the team a spot, along with Immaculata, in the national tournament in Flushing, New York.
Mercer did not play Immaculata but did defeat Long Beach State in a first-round game before being eliminated by Southern Connecticut State in the quarterfinals.
Later on, Mercer captured AIAW state championships in 1979 and 1980, as well as the Region III tournament title in 1980, which earned the team another berth in the AIAW national championships. Coached by Jane Fontaine, the team hosted Texas in a first-round game at the Macon Coliseum, losing to the Longhorns 81-80.
During the 1970s, Mercer won 13-of-15 meetings with Georgia. The team also handed Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest basketball coach of either gender, her first loss as Tennessee’s head coach, 84-83 during the 1974-75 season.
Mercer produced a first-team Kodak All-American and a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic team in Cindy Brogdon, as well as a member of the U.S. World University Games team in Sybil Blalock.
Small schools dominated the AIAW national basketball champions list during the association’s decade-long run. Of the teams that won the title during those years -- Immaculata (1972-74), Delta State (1975-77), UCLA in (1978), Old Dominion (1979-80), Louisiana Tech (1981) and Rutgers (1982) -- only UCLA and Rutgers are currently in one of the six power conferences. Since the NCAA took over the women’s championships in 1982, only two schools from a non-power conference has won a title: Louisiana Tech in 1982 and 1988 and Old Dominion in 1985.
Bobby Pope hosts the Saturday Football Scoreboard Show on 1670 AM. The show is in its 37th year this fall.
This story was originally published October 25, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mercer women enjoyed early success."