When the Board of Trustees meets Friday in a regularly scheduled meeting, they’ll bring more to the table than academics and committee reports.
They will discuss whether the court on Reynolds Coliseum should be named after coach Kay Yow, according to associate head coach Stephanie Glance. The board is expected to take a vote to determine whether she will receive the honor.
Glance said if the Board of Trustees supports the idea, it would be something Glance believes is merited.
“It’s tremendous. It does have to go before a vote — before the board. It’s absolutely well deserved beyond measure, absolutely,” Glance said.
“It’s a big honor because it’s a permanent honor. It’s something that stays on this floor for as long as this floor is in existence. It’s something that you don’t take away.”
Yow earned her 700th win on Feb. 5 against Florida State. The win put her in a group of only six coaches in the history of Division I basketball to have totaled 700 career wins.
Glance compared the naming of the court to being inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, which Yow entered during the 2002-2003 season.
“She will forever be in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Nothing will ever change that. And nothing will change her name on that floor,” Glance said.
“When there is something like that that is a permanent thing, I think that’s a great representation of her, everything she’s done — for women’s basketball at N.C. State, the University, women’s basketball nationwide and internationally. It’s this big realm of impact.”
But, Glance said Yow would be deserving of the honor not just because of her time on the basketball court.
Yow, who is in her 32nd season at N.C. State, returned to coaching this season after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer.
“She’s just a person that’s had so much impact everywhere — inside the sport, outside the sport,” Glance said. “As a representative, if you mention N.C. State, people know Kay Yow. It’s an interesting thing.”
The vote comes the same day as the home game against North Carolina. Glance declined to comment on if there would be any type of special ceremony during the game.
While Glance said she thinks it should pass, she was cautious because she knows it comes down to the Board of Trustees.
“I would surely hope that it passes,” Glance said. “I wouldn’t see a reason that it wouldn’t pass. But still, it has to be passed by the Board of Trustees.”
Senior Staff Writer Justin Fowler contributed to this report.
