RCW: A Look Back 4.25

As the 2017-18 women’s basketball season comes to a close, let’s take A Look Back at one of the sport’s – and KU’s – early trailblazers and leaders: Marian Washington.
 
Named Kansas women’s basketball head coach in 1973, Marian Washington held the reins of the program for 30 seasons, until 2004, when she retired with a 560-363 record. Washington was well-respected in her field, as evidenced by the fact that she was selected to serve as president of the Black Coaches Association for two consecutive terms, from her election in 1992 until 1994. In so doing, she became both the first female president of the organization, and the first person of either gender to serve two consecutive terms. Formed in 1988, the Black Coaches Association focused on improving employment opportunities for minorities. It served this function under various names until October of 2016, when the board of directors voted to cease operations due to a shortage of funding.
 
Respect for Washington and her achievements has been shown in other ways as well, including her inductions into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as well as the Kansas Athletics, State of Kansas Sports and the West Chester State University Halls of Fame.