Seton Hall Celebrates 50 Years of Women's Athletics With Over 300 Attendees
12/7/2023 10:13:00 AM | General, Pirate Blue
Over 300 Seton Hall constituents, including a significant number of student-athlete alumnae, attended the event on campus in Bethany Hall. The evening, hosted by BIG EAST digital correspondent Meghan Caffrey, included remarks from Seton Hall interim president Dr. Katia Passerini and Director of Athletics Bryan Felt. Incredibly, 11 of the 12 women who comprised the inaugural 1973-74 women's basketball team were in attendance.Â
The keynote of the evening was celebrating Seton Hall's inaugural Champion for Change Award recipient, Sue Dilley Regan, who was the first head women's basketball coach at The Hall, went on to become the first women's administrator and was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989. The Champion for Change Award was created to celebrate an individual who has dedicated their time and efforts to inspire others to advocate for inclusion, create a sense of belonging, serve as a role model and strive for the advancement of girls and women in sports and beyond. Sue Dilley Regan's passionate work at Seton Hall for decades made her the perfect selection for the award.
Moving forward, this award will be known as the Sue Dilley Regan Champion for Change Award and will be presented to a student-athlete who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to Seton Hall and who exemplifies the spirit of Sue Dilley Regan through leadership, courage and community building.
Seton Hall also honored the first head coaches of each varsity sport with many of them in attendance. Each head coach was presented a plaque by a current student-athlete from the same sport. This portion of the evening included a touching tribute from Matthew Vilardo, son of Dorothy "Dot" Vilardo, who was Seton Hall's first women's swimming & diving head coach and had recently passed away in November after a long battle with cancer.
The evening ended with a panel discussion, moderated by Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Famer Robin Cunningham, who was Seton Hall's first female scholarship student-athlete, played basketball, softball and tennis, and was first female to have her number retired. On the panel were Regan, Hall of Famer Kelly Smith of women's soccer, who also has her number retired at the University and holds multiple NCAA scoring records, and Hall of Famer Flirtisha Harris of women's track & field, who is a four-time NCAA national champion.
Since women's sports began varsity competition during the 1973-74 academic year, Seton Hall women have accounted for four individual national championships, numerous All-America selections, 10 team BIG EAST championships, a great number of individual conference champions and 13 team NCAA Tournament appearances. The 1994 women's indoor track & field team posted the highest finish among women's sports at Seton Hall, placing third at the NCAA Indoor Championship. The 1993-94 women's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
