For the CSAC Institutional Academic Excellence Award, all students who use a season of eligibility, as defined by the NCAA, are included in the institution’s grade point average calculation.  Institutional grade point averages are calculated by using the total quality points of all credits attempted by student-athletes during the academic year.  The grade point average of student-athletes who do a study-abroad semester during the academic year are calculated in the same manner in which the institution calculates all grade point averages for students studying abroad.  Institutional grade point averages are calculated and certified by the registrar of each institution.

This marks the first time in the award’s four-year history in which Immaculata University has been honored.  Previous winners include Cairn University (2010-11) and Cedar Crest College (2008-09, 2009-10).

Among the inductees for the first class were Immaculata’s 1972, 1973, and 1974 National Women’s College Basketball Championship teams, Coach Cathy Rush, and three championship players who achieved All-American status.  In addition, Sister Marita David Kirsch, IHM, a member of Immaculata College’s Mythical City Championship Team 1945-1946, was inducted.

Members of the Championship teams (married name in parentheses):
Denise Conway (Crawford) of Havertown, PA
Marianne Crawford (Stanley) of Raleigh, NC
Barbara Deuble (Kelly) of White Bear Lake, MN
Sue Forsyth (O’Grady) of Drexel Hill, PA
Betty Ann Hoffman (Quinn) of Ardmore, PA
Nancy Johnston
Tina Krah of Indianapolis, IN
Marie Liguori (Williams) of Aventura, FL
Judy Marra (Martelli) of Media, PA
Maureen Mooney (deceased)
Patricia Mulhern (Loughran) of Broomall, PA
Rene Muth (Portland) of Bloomington, IN
Patricia Opila (Penater) (deceased)
Janet Ruch (Boltz) of Glen Mills, PA
Mary Scharff of Audubon, NJ
Theresa Shank (Grentz) of West Chester, PA
Maureen Stuhlman of South Lake Tahoe, CA
Janet Young (Eline) of Gettysburg, PA
Coach: Cathy Rush

All-Americans:
Marianne Crawford (Stanley): Two-time All-American 1975, 1976
Mary Scharff: All-American 1977
Theresa Shank (Grentz): Three-time All-American 1972, 1973, 1974

Coach:
Cathy Rush

Player:
Sister Marita David Kirsch, IHM:
The Mythical City team defeated top-ranked Temple University – breaking their 31-game winning streak.

Members of Immaculata’s Athletic Hall of Fame Selection Committee included administrators, faculty, and coaches from the University.  Immaculata University’s Hall of Fame is housed in Alumnae Hall adjacent to the IU gymnasium.

Tickets to the induction ceremony are $50 per person or $500 per table of ten.  To reserve tickets, please contact Susan Ross at 610-647-4400, ext. 3874. 

Among the inductees for the first class are Immaculata’s 1972, 1973, and 1974 National Women’s College Basketball Championship teams that include: Janet Ruch Boltz, Denise Conway Crawford, Janet Young Eline, Theresa Shank Grentz, Nancy Johnston, Barbara Deuble Kelly, Tina Krah, Patricia Mulhern Loughran, Judy Marra Martelli, Maureen Mooney, Sue Forsyth O’Grady, Patricia Opila Penater, Rene Muth Portland, Betty Ann Hoffman Quinn, Mary Scharff, Marianne Crawford Stanley, Maureen Stuhlman, Marie Liguori Williams, Coach Cathy Rush, and three championship players who achieved All-American status (Theresa Shank Grentz, Marianne Crawford Stanley, and Mary Sharff).  In addition, Sister Marita David Kirsch, IHM, a member of Immaculata College’s Mythical City Championship Team 1945-1946, will also be inducted.

Immaculata University is a comprehensive, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher education, located on the Main Line between Malvern and Exton, 20 miles west of Philadelphia.

The 2011-12 season marks the third-straight year that Immaculata’s women’s basketball team has been ranked among the WBCA’s Top 25. The Mighty Macs were 11th in 2010-11 with a squad GPA of 3.508 and 19th during 2009-10 with a 3.435 GPA.

The Mighty Macs were led by 15 student-athletes being named to the 2012 CSAC Winter/Spring All-Academic Team, and Leah Kuczynski was also honored on the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team. 

Immaculata finished the 2011-12 campaign reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Mighty Macs rounded out the season with a 15-12 overall mark, including a 12-4 record in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC).

Immaculata is one of two CSAC teams featured on the WBCA Academic Top 25. Centenary College listed 10th in Division III with a 3.522 GPA.

Northland College led all of Division III with a 3.706 GPA, while Case Western Reserve University and Hope College completed the top three positions on the honor roll.

The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes annually NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and Junior College/Community College women’s basketball teams throughout the country that carry the highest GPA for the entire season based on nominations by WBCA-member head coaches.

“I am thrilled that Terrance Stewart will lead our basketball program,” Canterino said. “He is committed to academics, character development and winning.  I believe his leadership, confidence, dedication and vision will guide Immaculata men’s basketball into a terrific new era.”

Stewart arrives at Immaculata having spent the last two seasons with the LaSalle University men’s basketball program serving as the video coordinator and assistant director of operations. In his role with the Explorers, Stewart worked with the coaching staff to prepare scouting reports, coordinate film exchange and assist in coordinating recruiting visits.

Prior to joining the staff at LaSalle, Stewart was the head coach of the East Coast Elite 17U AAU team during 2009-10.

Stewart played professional basketball overseas at the highest levels of international competition for 10 seasons. He ended his professional playing career in Spain with CAI Zaragoza. He also played in France, Germany, Israel, Russia, Belgium, Portugal, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela. During his professional career, he received first-team All-Import honors three times and was four times chosen as a second-team All-Import selection playing in various leagues.

Stewart played collegiately at Rowan University from 1992 to 1996. The Profs reached the NCAA Tournament during all four seasons he was on the team, including three appearances in the national semifinals. Rowan captured the national championship in 1996, and Stewart was named the most valuable player of the tournament.

Stewart earned All-NJAC honors on three occasions, including first team recognition in both 1995 and 1996. He was selected as the NJAC player of the year his junior campaign during 1994-95. Stewart finished his playing career at Rowan as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,628 points. That mark stood until 2008.

Stewart earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Thomas Edison College.

The Mighty Macs team members and their coach, Cathy Rush, won the first three U.S. national women’s college basketball championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974. They played the University of Maryland in the first nationally televised women’s basketball game in 1974, and they earned Immaculata the title of the birthplace of modern college women’s basketball.

The teams produced several NCAA Division I head women’s basketball coaches, including Theresa Shank Grentz, an All-American player who went on to become the head coach for the 1992 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball team, and president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Also from the player’s roster of All-American Mighty Macs is Marianne Crawford Stanley. Stanley won three national championships as head women’s basketball coach at Old Dominion. She is now a coach with the WNBA Washington Mystics.

Another coaching standout is Rene Muth Portland. She is the former head women’s basketball coach at Penn State. Her career resume includes 21 NCAA tournament appearances including a Final Four appearance played in Philadelphia in 2000.

Mighty Macs Head Coach Cathy Rush was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. Her record at Immaculata was 149-15. She also had six Final Four appearances from her 1970-1977 coaching tenure with the Mighty Macs.

Through all of these achievements, the Mighty Macs significantly raised the profile of women’s sports, capturing national attention and inspiring younger generations to compete and win in their games.

To celebrate these accomplishments and the release of The Mighty Macs, a movie starring Carla Gugino, David Boreanaz, and Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn, Immaculata University has observed the year of the Mighty Macs in 2011-2012, 40 years after the first championship season. As part of the festivities, Immaculata created a commemorative website, www.yearofthemightymacs.com; held a black tie gala at The Franklin Institute; organized a movie premiere at the Kimmel Center; and hosted a DVD release party at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Immaculata University is a residential, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher education, located on the Main Line between Malvern and Exton, 20 miles west of Philadelphia.