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Women's Basketball

Southern Connecticut Athletics Mourns The Passing Of Cathy Inglese

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut State University Department of Athletics is saddened to learn of the passing of Owls Hall of Famer Cathy Inglese '80 on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. Inglese was 60 years old.

"The entire Southern Connecticut community is saddened to hear of Cathy's passing," Director of Athletics Jay Moran said. "As one of the all-time great student-athletes in Southern women's basketball history, Cathy had a profound impact on the program and left an indelible mark on Southern Connecticut athletics. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cathy's family at this very difficult time."

Inglese was a stand-out for the Owls' women's basketball program, leading Southern to three national postseason tournaments in four seasons. At the completion of her playing career, Inglese became just the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 points, finishing with 1,194.

"As I think about Cathy as a basketball player, I remember how she was my first captain in my first year after I was hired," former SCSU women's basketball head coach Tony Barone said. "She was truly one of the most disciplined athletes I ever had and certainly one of the most knowledgeable. She was a great individual and a very caring person. She loved coaching, it was her passion and she was dedicated to it for a long time. I have no doubt that she's in some way still coaching today. I'm going to miss her."

To date, she is the only player in program history to score 40 points in a game, accomplishing the feat against Massachusetts on Feb. 20, 1980. An outstanding softball player as well, Inglese was inducted into the Connecticut Softball Hall of Fame. She completed her degree, graduating magna cum laude, in 1980 before embarking on a coaching career.

"This is very sad news," former SCSU Associate Athletic Director of Athletic Communications Rick Leddy said. "Cathy was a terrific player on Southern's nationally-ranked teams, went on to an outstanding coaching career and was an even better person. She came from a "Southern" family, following her father Vincent, who was also an Owls' basketball standout. I know that there are many who played with her and for her, fortunate to have had her as friend, role model and mentor." 

After three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire, Inglese earned her first head coaching post at University of Vermont, where she guided the Catamounts to perfect seasons in 1992 and 1993 that produced a 57-game winning streak. She was then named Boston College's head coach where she led the Eagles to seven 20-win seasons in her final eight years while also seeing the program advance to three consecutive NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances.

She later went on to coach at the University of Rhode Island, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Hofstra University, while also being named to the coaching staff with Team USA at the 2005 World University Games in Turkey.        
 
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