Kay Yow

by Steven Case, 2010.
NC Government & Heritage Library.

March 14, 1942 - January 29, 2009

Sandra Kay Yow spent her entire career in North Carolina. Born in Gibsonville, she graduated from East Carolina University in 1964, taught and coached at Allen Jay High School in High Point and Gibsonville High School, and coached the basketball team at Elon College (now Elon University) from 1971-1975.

In 1975, Yow was hired as the first full-time women's basketball coach by North Carolina State University. During her tenure at NC State, her teams won five regular season championships and four ACC tournament championships. She was an assistant coach for the 1984 gold medal winning Olympic team, and was head coach when the team won gold again at the 1988 games in Seoul. Her career record in Division I basketball was 737-344. In addition to many other honors, she was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Yow died in January 2009 at the age of 66, after a long battle with breast cancer.