Cathy Rush

Cathy Rush (born Cathy Cowan; April 7, 1947) was the head women's basketball coach at Immaculata from 1972 to 1977.

Rush was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 7, 1947 to John and Alice Cowan.

A resident of Ventnor City, New Jersey, Rush grew up in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and graduated from Oakcrest High School in 1964.

Rush graduated from the high school in 1964.

Rush decided to attend West Chester State College in nearby Pennsylvania, majoring in physical education.

She played on the basketball team for the first two years, but when the basketball coach left, she dropped basketball and switched to gymnastics.

Ed T. Rush also attended West Chester University, but graduated in 1964, the year before Cathy arrived.

They met on a date, at a basketball game in the Palestra.

Cathy was a freshman at the time.

She received a Bachelor of Science in 1968 and a master's degree in education in 1972, both from West Chester University.

She has two children with her ex-husband, former National Basketball Association referee and Supervisor of Officials Ed T. Rush.

She graduated in 1968.

After college, she accepted a coaching position at Springfield High School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

This was not a permanent position, as she was filling in for a teacher who was on sabbatical.

Rush taught classes, while coaching the basketball, lacrosse and field hockey teams.

When the teacher on sabbatical returned, she accepted a position at General Wayne Junior High in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

She taught physical education and health classes during her two-year stay at the school.

They resumed dating two years later, and were married on June 1, 1968.

While Rush was at General Wayne Junior High, the coaching opportunity became available at Immaculata, an all-girls Catholic school with an enrollment of 400 students.

The job came with some challenges—the gym had burned down and there were no plans to replace it, so all games had to be away games.

The salary was $450 per year and the school only had one basketball.

Rush was only 22, barely older than the players she would be coaching.

She led Immaculata to three consecutive AIAW national titles from 1972–1974.

She led the Mighty Macs to six consecutive final four appearances in her six seasons with the school, attaining a 149–15 record.

The Mighty Macs, a movie about the season leading to the winning of the first women's national basketball championship in 1972, was released in October 2011.

Rush is played by Carla Gugino.

She had also been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Rush was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 7, 2008.

She grew up in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, a township with over 40,000 residents in 2010, but approximately 5,000 when she was in elementary school.

Her elementary school consisted of two rooms, with a single teacher for each room.

One room housed the first through third grades, while the other room was for the fourth through sixth grades.

When she reached eighth grade, Rush began playing basketball in the Six-on-six basketball style.

Her scoring average was 30 points per game, which earned her the nickname "Big Gun", and she helped earn a position at the county tournament.

In her freshman year, she attended the brand new Oakcrest High School.

She played basketball for the high school team, and despite being a freshman, won the county scoring title.

However, when she became a sophomore, she learned that the school had dropped interscholastic sports for girls.

At the same time, a new teacher arrived with gymnastics experience.

The teacher started a gymnastics team, and Rush threw herself into gymnastics.

She was appointed team captain, and specialized in the trampoline.

Although not an interscholastic activity, the team toured and put on halftime shows and demonstrations.