Pioneer women’s basketball powers fade into the shadows full of pride as money reshapes the game

Fans watch an NCAA college basketball game between Immaculata and Marymount, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Immaculata, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) 2026-04-01T10:00:06Z When fans walk into Immaculata’s gym they are immediately reminded of the team’s glorious past, when the Mighty Macs ruled women’s basketball nearly a half-century ago.

Championship trophies are proudly displayed near the entrance while Hall of Fame banners honoring some of the school’s icons, including former coach Cathy Rush, adorn the walls.

Powerhouses in this weekend’s Final Four like UConn and South Carolina stand on the shoulders of schools like Immaculata, Queens College, Wayland Baptist and Delta State.

During the early years of the women’s basketball poll that debuted in 1976, those programs set the foundation, dominating the now dissolved Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW).

But during the 50 years of the women’s poll, those pioneering programs haven’t been able to sustain the dynasty-level success that shaped women’s hoops in the 1970s.

AP AUDIO: Pioneer women’s basketball powers fade into the shadows full of pride as money reshapes the game Pioneer women’s college basketball powers have faded into the shadows full of pride as money reshapes the game.

Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports. “You can look back and say, ‘Well, it’s been a few years since we won a national championship,’” said Delta State athletic director Mike Kinnison, who was a student when the school won consecutive national titles from 1975-1977. “And that’s true.

But, you know, they don’t give those away.

You don’t buy them at Walmart.

You’ve got to earn them.” The game has professionalized as money reshaped the sports landscape, and competitive advantages shifted to big schools with seemingly unlimited budgets when the NCAA took over the sport in 1982.

The Lady Statesmen were the first No. 1 team when the women’s basketball poll debuted 50 years ago.

Wayland Baptist was second, Immaculata third and Queens ninth.

Delta State will be recognized during “The AP Top 25 Fan Poll Experience” being held Thursday-Saturday at Arizona State’s First Amendment Forum in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

The poll has served as a road map for the rise of the sport but a lot of things have happened since 1982. “The whole landscape of NCAA and Division II has changed,” Kinnison said. “Women’s basketball has just exploded.

And so it’s hard to dominate that space.

原文链接: AP News