Oral history interview with Sandra Kay Yow, June 22, 2005
Subtitle: interview G-0244, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Grundy, Pamela, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2008
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Women basketball coaches; Basketball for women; Coaching; Sex discrimination in sports; Attitudes; Cancer; Patients
Other titles: Interview G-0244, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Sandra Kay Yow, June 22, 2005; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Gibsonville, North Carolina, native Kay Yow is one of the most accomplished and respected women's basketball coaches in the world. Between 1975 and 2005, her North Carolina State teams compiled numerous league and tournament titles. In 1988--just a few months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer--she led the 1988 United States women's basketball team to the gold medal in the Seoul Olympics, She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. The interview covers many subjects, including Yow's childhood; an extensive discussion of her philosophy of leadership; an account of reactions to her announcement that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer; and an analysis of the ongoing challenges faced by female athletes and coaches as they seek to broaden their sport's appeal. She paints a portrait of a woman who personifies hard work and high standards, but who has sought to make the most of the circumstances in which she has found herself, rather than pursuing greater opportunities or radical changes. She attributes much of her approach to life and career to lessons taught her by her mother, who instilled both a respect for authority and a knack for looking at the bright side of situations.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on November 12, 2008).

Interview participants: Sandra Kay Yow, interviewee; Pamela Grundy, interviewer.

Duration: 01:37:19.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 127 kilobytes, 89.1 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series G, Southern women, interview G-0244, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Sharon Caughill. Original transcript: 36 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.