Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer a pioneer through coaching triumphs and personal tragedies

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The legendary women's college basketball coach recalled heading to a speaking engagement during an Iowa snowstorm about a month after her husband's sudden death. She realized she had been driving in the wrong direction while still deep in grief. She pulled over and told herself she couldn't make it.

She turned the car around. The audience had been waiting for her. She told them what happened. Sometimes we feel lost, as if we can not go on. With the help of others, we learn to thrive again.

That is the essence of the person who announced Saturday that she is retiring as Rutgers women's basketball coach. She is a larger-than-life figure who accomplished so much in her profession, but whose personal tragedies and successes made her an inspiration to so many people.

As a Black woman, she was a pioneer. She and Marian Washington were the most prominent Black coaches in women's basketball. They had to be the role models.

She was a pioneer in the development of collegiate women's athletics as a viable force in the sports world. She was a pioneer because she had a special needs child. She was a pioneer in helping educate and nurture young people in dealing with sexism and racism.

She won 1,055 games and took three schools to the women's Final Four: Cheyney, Iowa and Rutgers. She was a giant in her industry and could still relate to people from any walk of life.

When parents were scared about their child's future, they could get advice from Stringer. She could be of assistance to those who have lost a spouse or partner. She was able to give guidance to young professionals who felt they were going against systems that weren't set up to embrace their presence.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey, who faced the Cheyney team as a player, said, "When you've been in the game as long as she has, you've watched and experienced so many real-life things happen." We are just like everyone else in this world, even though they only see us on the court.

Vivian made the women's game better and the coaching profession more appealing to men and women throughout the country. She is an icon.

The oldest of six children, Stringer was born in March 1948 in Pennsylvania. Women's college athletics didn't exist in the 1960s, but Stringer was able to play a number of sports at Slippery Rock University.

The year that she got the head coaching job at Cheyney, she met her husband, Bill, and they married. In 1981 their daughter became permanently disabled after getting a disease. Cheyney went to the NCAA championship game, but real life had changed for the Stringers.

After one more season at Cheyney, Iowa came calling, wanting to bring in Stringer to transform its women's program but also promising Nina would get the best possible care. She was hesitant because she had spent a lot of her life in Pennsylvania. It was a good move for her and the Hawkeyes.

The program was turned into a contender. In the 1986-87 season, Iowa finished or tied for first in the Big Ten six times and was second the other season.

The Hawkeyes were able to recruit top talent from all over the country, players who might not have considered Iowa otherwise. She was at the top of the college game when Bill Stringer died of a heart attack.

For the second time, she took a team to the Final Four in a season in which she was devastated. Basketball and family saved her. Rutgers came calling in 1995 and that's when Stringer took on another challenge.

The Rutgers women's basketball team made the Final Four in 2000 and 2007, and had some of the best players in the college game who went on to be successful pros, including Cappie Pondexter. Pondexter and Copper won the Finals Most Valuable Player awards.

She was known for suffocating defense and her strict standards. She was more than just a coach. She was a surrogate mother, an advisor, a friend, a disciplinarian, and a spokeswoman who spoke her mind.

When Don Imus made derogatory comments about Rutgers players after their loss in the national championship game, they were thrust into a public conversation about race. She and her players were taking part in painful national discussions at a time when she would have preferred to celebrate a great season for her team.

Basketball is still trying to catch up with the representation of Black head coaches, but the progress that has been made has a lot to do with Stringer carrying that banner for such a long time. South Carolina has become a powerhouse under Dawn Staley. She was born in 1970.

Other Black women head coaches in college, including Arizona's Adia Barnes, Texas A&M's Joni Taylor, and Kentucky's Kyra Elzy.

The strength of your shoulders allowed us to stand tall.

The perfect title for the book was standing tall. She has been in the coaching profession for half a century. Her impact will go on for a long time.