Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Nancy Fahey celebrates her fifth NCAA Division III women’s basketball national championship on March 20, 2010 by cutting the net in Bloomington, Ill. Fahey was chosen for induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on July 23, 2011.

Fahey was tabbed in late July for induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and will be one of six members of the hall’s Class of 2012.

“[I was] surprised, shocked, humbled, honored,” Fahey said of hearing that she was selected. “It was a surprise to me.”

The announcement took place during halftime of the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game on July 23, before a national audience via ABC.

Fahey’s selection comes on the heels of another spectacular season, in which she coached the Bears to a 25-6 record and the ninth national championship game of her career.

“I’ve worked with Nancy since 1986, and I knew that we had someone that was very special,” athletic director John Schael said. “Not only as a coach, but as a person. And she has not disappointed throughout the years. She’s an incredible coach, incredible person and outstanding leader.”

As one of only two coaches in the history of the University’s women’s basketball program, Fahey has been a model of both consistency and excellence during her 25-year tenure. She sports a career record at Wash. U. of 596-106 (a .849 winning percentage) and has never finished less than 11 games over .500 in a single season.

The .849 winning percentage is second in NCAA women’s basketball across all divisions, behind only University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. The Bears have never lost more than eight games in a season with Fahey at the helm.

With all of the success, however, Fahey was quick to acknowledge that the award is just as much a testament to the players at Wash. U. as it is to her.

“This is a team sport, and I think of [the award] as a team recognition,” Fahey said. “It’s the coaches I’ve worked with, the administration, but most importantly the student athletes. This is a shared honor; I’m very well aware of it.”

Her players, however, contend that Fahey’s coaching ability has been just as crucial to the program’s success.

“Coach Fahey is a basketball genius. She is the architect of the best defensive and offensive systems that I have ever seen,” said Jaimie McFarlin, the school’s all-time leading rebounder and a member of the 2010 championship team. “The way our teams played reflected the passion she brought to the [Wash. U.] Fieldhouse every day, and we all learned from her the importance of dedication and paying attention to details.”

After lettering four times at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, serving as the team’s captain her senior year, Fahey coached at the high-school level in Wisconsin and Illinois until she was hired  by Wash. U. in 1986. Since then, she has been an assistant coach at the 1995 U.S. Olympic Festival and was a court coach for USA Women’s Basketball in 2001.

All of Fahey’s years with the Bears have been successful, but possibly none more so than the late ‘90s, when the team won an unprecedented four straight national championships between 1998 and 2001. With these titles and the championship in 2010, she has led Wash. U. to five national titles, a Division III best.

Yet when asked about the highlights of her time here at Wash. U., Fahey reflected on the smaller, less-noticeable moments with her team.

“The moments in practices, when something happens that’s funny, or a game that you’re not supposed to win and you win….It doesn’t necessarily always hinge on national championships,” Fahey said. “So my highlights just seem to be something that, a lot of times, people never see. And those are the important things that I cherish.”

Fahey will also be the only coach or student athlete from a Division III school to be inducted—an honor that she hopes she won’t hold for long.

“I hope the door has been opened,” Fahey said. “There are so many great coaches, so many great players I’ve had the opportunity to meet over these years that are deserving.”

But no matter what kind of ramifications her selection to the Hall of Fame has on the rest of basketball, Fahey’s impact on Wash. U. is clear.

“As the backbone of the Wash. U. women’s basketball program, she has been a great coach, mentor and role model for hundreds of women,” McFarlin said. “Her accomplishments are the standard of excellence that not just Division III and women’s basketball, but collegiate athletics, should be measured up against.”

The date of the induction ceremony has yet to be announced.

The No. 16 women’s team (14-4, 6-1 UAA) will rematch No. 15 NYU (16-2, 5-2 UAA) tonight at 6 p.m., five days after the Bears defeated the then-No. 8 ranked Violets 63-53. Sophomore Kathryn Berger posted a team-high 11 points in the victory, the 10th win for the Bears in their past 11 games.

During halftime of the women’s game, the 2008 Washington University Sports Hall of Fame class will be recognized. Ten of the newest inductees are former student-athletes, including Tasha Rodgers, a member of all four women’s basketball NCAA National Championship teams from 1998-2001, and Kevin Folkl, the men’s basketball team’s ninth all-time leading scorer and career leader in field goal percentage.

Also being inducted are two Distinguished Service Honorees, Hord Hardin (’35) and W. Edward Lansche (’48), bringing the total in the Hall of Fame to 132.

The men’s basketball team, ranked No. 2 in Division III nationally (17-1, 7-0 UAA), will then play NYU (13-5, 2-5 UAA) at 8 p.m. Junior guard Aaron Thompson will look to continue his hot streak, having scored 29 points in Sunday’s 67-56 win. Thompson is averaging 18.6 points per game for the season and has led the Bears in scoring the past five games.

The St. Louis Rams cheerleaders will perform during halftime of the men’s game and will be signing autographs after the game.

“[The Rams cheerleaders] actually contacted us and wanted to come perform at Wash. U., and they’re actually tied in with somebody who is affiliated with [the University],” said Trevor MacDonald, director of marketing and external relations for Washington University Athletics.

Tonight is also Eliot Night, where many of the contributors to University and athletic funding are invited to attend both games and a dinner beforehand.

Trying to remain perfect in UAA conference play, the men will play Brandeis University on Sunday at noon. Brandeis (12-6, 5-2 UAA) is the No. 2 team in the UAA and will be looking for revenge after a close 80-75 loss on Friday, Jan. 30 in which the Judges gave up the most points they had all season.

Despite having four players score in double figures, the Judges were bested by Wash. U.’s balanced offense and Thompson’s 18 points.

“Rematch games are always a little bit harder, especially offensively, because the other team gets to make defense adjustments. But if you flip that around, we get to make defensive adjustments also,” junior forward Cameron Smith said. “Every game in the UAA is going to be a dogfight, and Brandeis is one of the better teams [in the conference] this year, and we know they’re going to come to play on Sunday.”

Sunday, Feb. 8 is the second annual Youth Day, featuring free autographs from all of the basketball players, face painting, J.J. Jumper (the NCAA mascot), giveaways and much more youth-centered programming.

“We’ve done a lot of clinics throughout the year where kids keep coming back because they need a Sean Wallis or a Tyler Nading, and they want to come back and see them play and say hello to them. I think it’s nice to see the kids come out and get to see their idols play, and meet them and get their autographs,” MacDonald said.

At 2 p.m., the women take the court in another tough battle against No. 24 Brandeis (13-4, 3-4 UAA). Last weekend, the Bears defeated Brandeis 61-55 in a come-from-behind victory.

This weekend’s women’s games are of added importance given how close the UAA standings currently are. Wash. U. and No. 3 Rochester are tied atop the conference at 6-1 while NYU is only one game behind at 5-2. Rochester will face Emory and Case Western Reserve University this weekend, both of whom are 2-5 in conference play while Brandeis and NYU will also face the University of Chicago (13-5, 4-3 UAA) this weekend.