A Life Well-Lived

Coach Kay Yow, long-time N.C. State women’s basketball coach, lost her decades-long battle with cancer on Saturday, January 24^th when she died peacefully in her sleep in a Cary, North Carolina hospital.

Highly respected and revered in the basketball community and beyond, Coach Yow inspired Wolfpack women’s basketball teams for over 30 years with her faith, perseverance and wisdom. No stranger to success, she earned numerous accolades, including induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. She was equally well-known, however, for the positive attitude, grateful heart and determined spirit she demonstrated throughout her 21-year battle with breast cancer.

In 2006 Yow was the first woman inducted into the Athletes in Action Hall of Faith, an honor bestowed on athletes and coaches who display exemplary character in the game, in their families, and in the community. Her relationship with Campus Crusade began early in her coaching career when she invited an N.C. State Campus Crusade staff member to speak to her team on January 19, 1976. A meeting meant to positively impact her players changed Coach Yow’s life as well when she invited Jesus into her heart. Over the years Yow welcomed Crusade staff to interact with her team and in 2004-05 she served on the first-ever Athletes in Action Women’s Advisory Board.

Never had Yow’s fight against cancer been more public than in the last few years. During the 2007 season, chemotherapy treatments forced Yow to take a leave of absence from her team. Upon her return, the Wolfpack won 10 of 11 games, including her 700^th win and an upset of rival and No. 2 ranked North Carolina. ESPN and ABC covered the story and suddenly the Pack became “America’s Team” during their post-season run to the Sweet Sixteen.

Later that spring, Yow received the inaugural Jimmy V ESPY for Perseverance at the 2007 ESPY Awards. Visibly touched during the ensuing standing ovation, Yow spoke fondly of her working relationship with Valvano during his years at N.C. State and how the passion, inspiration and humor he embodied during his own fight with cancer deeply impacted her life.

In February of 2008, Yow and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association launched the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund to raise money for breast cancer awareness and research. The first national event, the 4Kay Run/Walk held during the 2008 Women’s Final Four weekend, boasted 800 participants, many of whom received a high-five from Yow as she cheered them on. In just its first year, the fund has raised over one million dollars.

Known as one of the pioneers of women’s basketball and one of only six Division I head women’s basketball coaches to reach 700 victories, Coach Yow’s influence and leadership has left an indelible mark on the basketball community. The valuable life lessons she’s taught her players will not be confined to the locker room, but will reach the hands of readers around the world through a book tentatively titled Leader of the Pack, written by Athletes in Action staff member Stephanie Zonars. Leader of the Pack (release date TBD) will illuminate Coach Yow’s unwavering faith in Christ as the source of her sustaining power and strength in order to encourage people who need hope and inspiration.

Coach Yow’s legacy lives on in the hearts of those inspired by her courage, compassion and faith. Basketball players, coaches and fans remember a tenacious yet gracious competitor who both lived and died with dignity and grace. Cancer patients and survivors gain strength and perspective in remembering the unshakable faith that helped one of their own fight every day armed with a positive attitude.

A public viewing and funeral will take place Friday, January 30, 2009 in Cary, North Carolina.

By Stephanie Zonars

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