Carol Ann Eckman (January 11, 1938 – July 30, 1985) was an American women's basketball coach and was known as the "Mother of the Women's Collegiate Basketball Championship". She was the basketball coach at

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university located in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the ...

from 1967–72 and helped organize the first collegiate women’s basketball championship tournament in 1969. Her team, the Golden Rams, won the national championship game each of the next three years. She had a 68-5 record in her five seasons as the coach of West Chester University. The annual Carol Eckman Award is given by the

Women's Basketball Coaches Association The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels. The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches. The mission of the WBC ...

to a women's college basketball coach. In 1999, she was inducted into the

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's bask ...

. Eckman was born in Berlin, Pennsylvania, to Frank Eckman, the son of Swedish immigrants, and Grace Smearman, of German descent. She died in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,754. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a populati ...

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Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award
American women's basketball coaches 1938 births 1985 deaths People from Somerset County, Pennsylvania American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent {{US-basketball-bio-stub