Carol A. Eckman

Carol E. Eckman was inducted into the College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in the fall of 2025. She was previously inducted into the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Hall of Fame in 2005.

Eckman, often referred to as the “mother of the women’s collegiate basketball championship,” earned her doctoral degree in physical education from West Virginia University in 1983. A native of Berlin, Pa., she began her coaching and teaching career after graduating from Lock Haven State College, where she was a multi-sport athlete.

She served in a variety of roles across multiple institutions, including SUNY New Paltz, West Chester State College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Lock Haven, where she coached basketball, field hockey, softball, and tennis, while also holding faculty and athletic administrative positions.

In 1969, while at West Chester, Eckman organized and hosted the first National Invitational Women’s Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament, which is widely recognized as the precursor to the AIAW and NCAA championships. Her West Chester team won that inaugural 16-team tournament and helped pave the way for the formal structure of women’s collegiate basketball.

Eckman’s coaching style and forward-thinking leadership left a lasting legacy in women’s athletics. In 1986, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association established the Carol Eckman Award to honor individuals who demonstrate the traits that defined her career: sportsmanship, integrity, commitment, and courage.

Eckman passed away in 1986 after a battle with cancer.