Join us to celebrate the life and accomplishments of legendary coach Jessie Banks, who passed away in February.
You can read more about how she changed the sport of basketball in Colorado and around the country in our latest blog.
In honor of Black History Month, we want to celebrate Marian E. Washington and Patricia Ferguson, two of the stars on the first college national championship team.
More than 125 women from across the country have been interviewed for the project. The series is expected to be released within the next year.
The series features personal stories from the women who made history — and the men who supported them — in the decades before the NCAA took over women’s sports.
If Not For Them, created by @brendavanlengen.bsky.social, is the origin story of women’s basketball in the United States, with direct connections to the success of women’s sports today.
A Nashville native, Bessie received a standing ovation when introduced at the @auprosports.bsky.social game on Friday, Feb. 13th at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and so many fans stopped by to congratulate her and thank her during the game.
Bessie Stockard sitting with an event emcee.
Bessie Stockard sitting with an event emcee. A camera is filming them and you can see a crowd behind them.
A camera crew films Bessie Stockard. You can see her on the screen behind them.
Thank you to Athletes Unlimited for celebrating Dr. Bessie Stockard, one of the stars of the If Not For Them docuseries and the first Black woman to serve on a US National Team coaching staff when she helped select and coach the women’s basketball team preparing for the 1976 Olympics!
More than 125 women from across the country have been interviewed for the project. The series is expected to be released within the next year.
The series features personal stories from the women who made history — and the men who supported them — in the decades before the NCAA took over women’s sports.
Highlights of her conversation with one of our stars, Bessie Stockard, will be featured throughout the series!
If Not For Them, created by Brenda VanLengen, is the origin story of women’s basketball in the United States, with direct connections to the success of women’s sports today.
Brenda VanLengen, Dr. Bessie Stockard and Sydney Colson
Dr. Bessie Stockard and Sydney Colson holding a grey shirt with the If Not For Them logo.
Dr. Bessie Stockard and Sydney Colson sitting on a sofa and talking in front of cameras.
What an incredible day in Nashville for If Not For Them on Friday, February 13th. We’re sending a huge thank you to NCAA National Champion and two-time WNBA Champion, Sydney Colson, for lending her voice and her perspective to the If Not For Them series!
If Not For Them will reveal the origin story and evolution of college women's basketball in a documentary series set to be released later in 2026.
Delta State, led by All-American Lusia Harris, and coached by Maraget Wade, after whom the Wade Trophy is named, won the national championship in 1975, 76 and 77. Both teams must not have been in enough polls in 1976 and 77 to qualify for this list.
They followed up as national runner-up in 1975 and 1976 and a national semifinal appearance in 1977.
Since the poll was initiated by Mel Greenberg in 1976, there are two notable absences among the greatest college teams of all time. Immaculata University won three straight national championships under Naismith Hall of Fame Coach Cathy Rush and superstar Theresa Shank (Grentz) in 1972, 73 and 74.
Wayland Baptist was ranked twice in 1980 before dropping out for good, and has spent more than 40 years playing as members of the NAIA.
However, the Wayland Baptist’s “Flying Queens” sustained excellence for decades and were ranked in every AP poll from the first one in 1976 to the final poll for the 1978-79 season, so they are ranked at #19 in the poll released December 29th.
For example, Wayland Baptist is the all-time winningest college program with over 1,800 victories as a program, but most of their national championships came in the AAU era, predating the AP Poll, the AIAW and the NCAA.
Kim Mulkey
Old Dominion
Tennessee
UConn
number of appearances in the poll and average ranking.
We will be providing in-depth personal interviews and stories related to many of the programs that had success in the early years of the poll in the upcoming If Not For Them docuseries.
Immaculata team picture 1972
Lusia Harris
Wayland Baptist
It is no surprise that UConn and Tennessee landed at #1 and #2 in the recent @apnews.com Poll that ranks the greatest womens basketball programs of all time.
The AP analyzed nearly 900 polls over the last 50 years to develop a ranking formula to determine the top teams including factors like…
Marsha Sharp, Brenda VanLengen and Jody Conradt standing together and smiling at the camera.
Brenda VanLengen, Jody Conradt and Ron Thulin sitting at a table. They all have tv broadcast headsets on.
After 49 years as a game-changing coach and athletic administrator, Texas legend Jody Conradt is retiring from fulltime employment.
You can review some of her career highlights here in the If Not For Them blog: ifnotforthem.com/a-birthday-celebration-for-jody-conradt/
Valerie Still looking stylish in all white, sitting in a chair on a basketball court facing the camera. You can see the back of Brenda VanLengen’s head in the foreground.
Valerie is not just UK’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, she is also a historian who has shared a lot of valuable information with If Not For Them about amazing women who have contributed to the history of women’s basketball.
Congratulations to Hannah Hidalgo on an incredible performance last night! She set a Notre Dame record with 44 points and an #ncaaw record with 16 steals against Akron.
Did you know she and Kentucky legend Valerie Still are both from Camden County, NJ?
She shared some remarkable stories from her own playing days and about the challenges of recruiting to a brand new program with If Not For Them.
Linda Sharp is sitting in a chair and smiling at the camera.
A big win for the USC Trojans, toppling ninth-ranked NC State this weekend!
Linda Sharp, the program’s first coach, led USC to two championships and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
“…And now, through this series, I have been slowly learning about all of those who have gone before me. My generation did not have the struggles like those before me, so I'm learning just what they had to go through, so that I and future generations might have unimaginable opportunities.”
“…and then followed the current leagues, I was so excited to hear about this project. I had never heard the stories before. I didn't know anyone who could tell me those stories...
A few thoughts from her on INFT:
“I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to be a part of If Not For Them team as a production assistant. Having a strong interest in women's basketball, having played all the way through college, and then coached younger kids…
Joni in an orange “If Not For Them” shirt standing in the stands at Target Center with the court behind her.
Joni and guests in from on two SLAM magazine covers with Napheesa Collier on them.
Production assistant Joni Kelsey shared these great pictues from Minnesota Lynx games this season. She has seen 10 of the 13 WNBA teams in-person!
How many have you seen?