Wallingford Native, Longtime College Coach, Cathy Inglese Dies

WALLINGFORD, CT — The basketball community and beyond is mourning the loss of Wallingford native Cathy Inglese, who died Wednesday night after suffering a traumatic brain injury last week. She was 60 years old. Inglese’s family confirmed her death in a post on social media.

“It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of our sister and daughter Cathy Inglese, due to complications from a traumatic brain injury,” the family’s statement read in a post on Facebook. “We will miss Cathy sooo very much. Our thanks go out to everyone for their unbelievable love and support.

“Cathy’s legacy lives on!!”

Inglese won a state title as a junior at Sheehan High School in 1976 and was inducted into Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. She was the head coach of the women's basketball team at Boston College from 1993 to 2008.

Inglese, who is also in Sheehan's Hall of Fame, visited with this past year's Sheehan basketball team before they played in the state tournament in March.

“Rest In Peace Coach Inglese,” the team wrote in a post on Twitter. “We will never forget the day we got to spend with you last March. You inspired us to be better at everything we do.”

Inglese was recently hired as the associate head women's basketball coach at Hofstra.

"Our hearts are hurting with the passing of Cathy," Hofstra women’s basketball coach Danielle Santos Atkinson said. "Cathy was one of the kindest and nicest people I have come to know in the coaching industry and in her short time with our program she left an indelible mark. Our entire program and the Hofstra family are heartbroken that she has passed but her memory will continue to influence our program every day we step on the court. Please join us in sending our thoughts and prayers to her family. Cathy lived a wonderful life and personally I am honored to have been able to call her a friend, colleague, co-worker and mentor."

Inglese was also a standout player at Southern Connecticut State University, leading the Owls to three national postseason tournaments in four seasons. At the end of her SCSU playing career, she became just the fourth player in program history to score 1,000 points and finished with 1,194.

"As I think about Cathy as a basketball player, I remember how she was my first captain in my first year after I was hired," former SCSU women's basketball head coach Tony Barone said. "She was truly one of the most disciplined athletes I ever had and certainly one of the most knowledgeable. She was a great individual and a very caring person. She loved coaching, it was her passion and she was dedicated to it for a long time. I have no doubt that she's in some way still coaching today. I'm going to miss her."

To date, Inglese is the only player in program history to score 40 points in a game, which she accomplished against Massachusetts on Feb. 20, 1980. She was also an outstanding softball player and was inducted into the Connecticut Softball Hall of Fame. She completed her degree, graduating magna cum laude, in 1980 before embarking on a coaching career.

"The entire Southern Connecticut community is saddened to hear of Cathy's passing," SCSU Athletic Director Jay Moran said. "As one of the all-time great student-athletes in Southern women's basketball history, Cathy had a profound impact on the program and left an indelible mark on Southern Connecticut athletics. Our thoughts and prayers are with Cathy's family at this very difficult time."

After three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of New Hampshire, Inglese earned her first head coaching post at University of Vermont, where she guided the Catamounts to perfect seasons in 1992 and 1993 that produced a 57-game winning streak. She was then named Boston College's head coach where she led the Eagles to seven 20-win seasons in her final eight years while also seeing the program advance to three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances. She later went on to coach at the University of Rhode Island, Fairleigh Dickinson University and most recently at Hofstra University, while also being named to the coaching staff with Team USA at the 2005 World University Games in Turkey.