Women Who Lead: Coach Kay Yow

Coach Kay Yow didn't know the meaning of the word "quit." As a woman in a male-dominated sport, she fought long and hard throughout her lifetime to bring honor and recognition to women's college basketball. Born in 1942, Yow first established herself as contender back in 1964, following her graduation from East Carolina University. It was then that she joined the staff of Allen Jay High School in High Point, NC, where she juggled duties as an English teacher, librarian, and the girls' basketball coach.

As time moved on, so did her aspirations. Yow went on to earn a Masters in Phys Ed from UNC-Greensboro in 1970, and then became the women's basketball coach at Elon College. She made history in 1975 when she was selected to become the first full-time women's basketball coach for North Carolina State.

Winning was something Coach Yow knew how to do, and she proved it over the next two decades. A silver medal at the World University Games in 1981. A gold at the Goodwill Games in 1986. Another gold medal for her work coaching the U.S. women's basketball team at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 (despite being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987).

But she didn't let cancer define her - if anything, it made her stronger and more determined to reach her goals. 2001 brought with it a 600-win milestone; 2007 ushered in her 700th. Soon, athletes and sports figures around the country (and beyond) began to look to Yow, not as a woman, but as a coach who understood the need to play hard and live life to the fullest. This credo let to numerous Hall of Fame inductions, a renaming of Reynolds Coliseum in her honor, and the first ever Jimmy V ESPY Award.

Basketball might have been Yow's first love, but supporting breast cancer research and awareness became her final life mission. Following a return of her cancer in 2004, Yow weathered radiation treatments and surgery and went on to eventually help establish the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund® with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the V Foundation for Cancer Research in 2007. While her illness finally forced her to take a leave of absence from her beloved coaching postion, Yow refused to let the disease dictate her life. On January 24, 2009, Coach Kay Yow passed away, but her strength continues to inspire millions, and her dream for a cancer-free world lives on.

*This month, you can make a difference simply by buying the perfect book for college. U Chic founder, Christie Garton, Sourcebooks, and the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund® have joined forces to make sure your purchase has an impact. Pick up U Chic: The College Girls Guide to Everything during the month of October (only from Sourcebooks.com), and you'll receive 10% off your purchase and a percentage of the net proceeds will be donated to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®.