Women’s Basketball, 1968–79, 1980–81
Lucille Kyvallos earned her Master’s degree in physical education at Indiana University. She became head coach of QC’s women’s basketball team in 1968, and coached the first women’s basketball team to be inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame, the 1972–73 team from QC, with records that would last nearly a decade. Its success opened the door to a Madison Square Garden appearance two years later. A woman of vision, Lucille was the first coach to incorporate aerobic conditioning and weight training into her team’s regimen, and taught women to be winners by maximizing their skills and competitive abilities. She brought the national spotlight to women’s basketball competition at QC.
On October 14, 2017, Lucille Kyvallos was honored in a ceremony at Fitzgerald Gymnasium, where her name was unveiled as an eternal part of the Queens College campus. The Lucille Kyvallos Court will forever be the home floor of the Queens College women's basketball team; it is historic that Lucille is the first woman to have a court named after her in the New York City area. Coach Kyvallos is an integral part of the fabric that is Queens College women's basketball, as well as a prominent player in the history of the growth and continued emergence of women's basketball on the national level.
To learn more about the legacy of Lucille Kyvallos, READ COACH KYVALLOS (pdf)
You are also welcome to visit the Queens College Special Collections and Archives at the Rosenthal Library. Please RSVP
