C. Vivian Stringer’s legacy connects Iowa, South Carolina and all of women’s basketball

CLEVELAND — As Dawn Staley worked in her office last month, she received a call from C. Vivian Stringer. The Hall of Fame coach was reaching out to congratulate Staley on an undefeated regular season.

They’ve known each other for decades, and Staley’s reverence for Stringer remains strong.

“When you get a call from a legendary coach, it gives you inspiration, it gives you stamina, it gives you what you need in that moment to have the strength to continue on with whatever challenges you’re faced with,” Staley said Saturday. As South Carolina and Iowa meet in Sunday’s national championship, Stringer is a thread connected to both programs.

To Staley, Stringer is a mentor. They grew close after Stringer tried to recruit Staley to Iowa in the 1980s. Staley chose Virginia, but their bond has been tight, becoming stronger still when Stringer coached Staley on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team. In 2018, Staley described her as “a powerful voice in our game, our profession, and never more than when you reach back to those who aspire to continue your legacy of growing our game.”

To Iowa and coach Lisa Bluder, Stringer is a foundational figure, integral in building the base that Caitlin Clark now stands (or rather, shoots) on. Bluder’s admiration for Stringer, like Staley’s, is palpable. They’ve remained in touch through the years with Bluder valuing her opinion and appreciating Stringer’s work establishing the program.

On Feb. 3, 1985, Stringer walked out onto the Carver-Hawkeye Arena court and began to swell with emotion. She was in her second season in Iowa City, playing Ohio State with 22,157 people crammed into the stadium, filling every seat and aisle. Two thousand more Hawkeyes supporters were turned away. “When I came out and saw the crowd, it just brought tears to my eyes,” Stringer told reporters after the game. “Nowhere else in the country is this possible.”

Possibilities for growth were endless then. The event set what was then the record for most fans ever to attend a women’s basketball game. Nearly four decades later, Clark and Iowa have accelerated the evolution of a sport that still holds boundless potential. This past season, the Hawkeyes played a preseason game inside their football stadium in front of more than 55,000 fans. “I could never imagine the things that have happened since my time at Iowa,” Stringer, 76, said in a phone call Saturday with The Athletic.

Stringer, in 1983, and Bluder, in 2000, were both hired by Dr. Christine Grant, who was a pioneer for gender equity in college sports. In 1973, Grant became Iowa’s first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics and hired Stringer, who had led Cheyney State to a national championship appearance in the first women’s NCAA Tournament in 1982. Bluder understands the gravity of her link to Stringer. “We have that connection, that bond because of that,” Bluder said. “Stringer started the momentum. She started getting people excited about what this product could be. That really helped us.”

C. Vivian Stringer hugs UI head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder on Thursday in Chicago. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/bHTIxi4KAl

— The Iowa Hawkeyes (@TheIowaHawkeyes) October 16, 2014

Jolette Law, a South Carolina assistant coach who played for Stringer at Iowa from 1987-90, sees Stringer’s fingerprints on the exploding popularity of women’s college basketball. “Everybody is thinking that since Caitin Clark, the crowds have come,” she said. “All I know is that the loyal (Iowa) fans that pack that arena day in and day out take it back to then.”

Positive momentum took the form of interest. But under Stringer, Iowa achieved an unprecedented level of on-court success, too. Beginning in 1984-85, the Hawkeyes won at least 20 games in 10 consecutive seasons. Twice, Stringer was named the WBCA Coach of the Year. In 1993, Iowa made its first Final Four. It wasn’t until last season that Clark and the Hawkeyes would return to that stage.

Bluder was just starting out as a head coach at nearby St. Ambrose when Stringer was leading the Hawkeyes. She said she worked at Stringer’s camps to spend more time around her. “Just to be in her presence, really,” Bluder said. “And to really learn from her.”

Bluder still recalls Stringer driving her home after one session. She would sneak into Hawkeyes practices to see Stringer teach. Like Staley and Law, she considers Stringer a mentor. “Lisa has always paid homage because Vivian was Vivian, and chose to come to Iowa with Dr. Grant,” Hawkeyes associate coach Jan Jensen said. “Vivian will be forever tied to us, and we’re proud of it.”

Stringer coached Rutgers from 1995 to 2022. In January, the Scarlet Knights honored her during their game against the Hawkeyes. Along with a sellout crowd, Stringer watched as Clark recorded a 29-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double. To Stringer, it was a surreal moment. “Not only was she a phenomenal player, a once-in-a-generation type of player, but to think that this happened at Iowa was crucial,” she said.

Law sometimes affectionately calls Staley “Little Vivian.” She sees similarities between the two trailblazing women. Law cites their competitiveness and humor. Staley talks about being a dream merchant. “Coach Stringer was always like, ‘I want to make young people believe in the impossible.’ I see a lot of that in Dawn,” Law said. Last March, during South Carolina’s second-round NCAA Tournament, Staley paid homage to Stringer and women’s basketball’s past, wearing Cheyney State star Yolanda Laney’s jersey on the sideline.

This is so cool. Dawn Staley is honoring Cheyney State on the sideline today.

Cheyney State played in the first NCAA women’s national championship game in 1982. The team was coached by the legendary C. Vivian Stringer. Only HBCU to appear in an NCAA Final Four or title game. pic.twitter.com/xXmW5p00V6

— Sean Hurd (@seanahurd) March 19, 2023

Acknowledging history is important for those who played for Stringer. Saturday in Cleveland, generations of former Stringer players from Rutgers, Iowa and Cheyney continued a tradition that goes back at least 15 years. More than 20 people gathered for a meal in the city hosting the Final Four. The group calls it the “CVS Brunch,” where they swap stories, chat about the weekend and discuss women’s basketball more broadly. Though Stringer was unable to attend this year, she was touched to hear from players she had coached.

Law was preoccupied, preparing for SC’s matchup against the Hawkeyes. But after attending in the past, she knows how special the Stringer tree is. Although Staley never played under her in college, she, too, appreciates that Stringer has given her the space to learn and grow, while also being a resource at any crossroads. “(Stringer’s) always welcoming,” Staley said. “She doesn’t overwhelm you with things.”

It’s safe to assume that if the Gamecocks defeat the Hawkeyes on Sunday, Staley and Law will decide to phone Stringer, returning the favor from a few weeks back. “If we win it,” Law said, “I’ll be so happy to say, ‘Coach, I got another one.’”

Stringer would welcome that call. “I’ve seen all this come full circle,” she said. “It’s amazing how all this has gone about. To be part of such history is incredible.”

(Photos of Dawn Staley, C. Vivian Stringer and Lisa Bluder: Steph Chambers / Getty Image, Mitchell Leff / Getty Images, Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)