Queens native and women’s basketball pioneer Lucille Kyvallos has been officially inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Kyvallos, an Astoria native, was one of seven members of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 at a ceremony at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville on Saturday, June 14.
Kyvallos was recognized for her work reshaping the women’s basketball program at Queens College between 1968 and 1981, where she helped the team gain top ten national prominence.
During her 13-year tenure at Queens College, Kyvallos led the Queens College Knights women’s basketball team to an impressive 239-77 record.
She also led the Queens College team out in a historic game at Madison Square Garden in 1975 when the famous venue held its first-ever women’s college basketball game as Queens College took on Immaculata University. The game, which Immaculata won 65-61, was viewed as a defining moment for women’s basketball in the United States.
Kyvallos also served as head coach for the US women’s basketball team at the World University Games in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1977, leading the US to a silver medal in the gold medal game against the USSR. Kyvallos also served on the United States Olympic Committee from 1969 to 1972 and from 1974 to 1976.
She was additionally a leading figure in the Title IX movement, which played a significant role in elevating women’s basketball on the national stage.
The movement led to the landmark 1972 Title IX law, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs, including athletics. The law mandated that women’s sports programs, including college basketball, had to be treated equitably in terms of funding, facilities and opportunities.
Queens College President Frank Wu paid tribute to Kyvallos for the lasting impact she has had on the college and women’s basketball. Wu added that generations of women athletes owe Kyvallos a debt of gratitude.
“We take enormous pride in being the place where Coach Kyvallos forged her extraordinary career,” Wu said in a statement. “Her unprecedented success transforming our women’s basketball program blazed a path for the sport’s overall advancement. Generations of women athletes owe her an enormous debt. We offer her our warmest congratulations on her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.”
In 2017, Queens College renamed its basketball court the Lucille Kyvallos Court in her honor. Her 1972-73 Queens College Knights team was also the first-ever women’s basketball team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
In addition to coaching at Queens College, Kyvallos dedicated her weekends and summers to hosting basketball camps and clinics, helping to raise awareness of the sport among teenage girls.
Other figures inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame alongside Kyvallos include Alana Beard, Sue Bird, Mark Campbell, Danielle Donehew, Sylvia Fowles and Cappie Pondexter.
