Catherine E. Parson

Biographical Sketch

Catherine "Cathy" E. Parson was named Central State University's head Women’s Basketball coach in November of 2020. Parson earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from West Virginia University in 1984, master's degree in adult education and training from the University of Phoenix in 2010 and is completing a doctorate degree in education from Morgan State University. Parson has a vast and highly successful coaching background. Prior to her arrival at Central State she served at Stratford University, Frostburg State University, Howard University, University of Richmond, Providence College and Christopher Newport University. In 1998, Parson was the interim head coach for the WNBA's Washington Mystics. She has also served as a high school head coach at North Hagerstown. Parson was the first woman to earn an athletic scholarship from WVU. Playing at WVU from 1979 to 1983, Parson set and still holds many of the school records. She finished her career as the WVU women’s all-time career scoring leader with 2,128 points. In 1996, Parson became the first woman to be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame. During her tenure at CNU, her teams appeared in the NCAA Tournament six times and advanced to final field of 16 teams once.