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Former Wake women's basketball coach Charlene Curtis dead at 67

PhDeac

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[h=1]ACC Mourns Passing of Former Supervisor of Women’s Basketball Officials Charlene Curtis[/h]
https://theacc.com/news/2022/8/18/g...ens-basketball-officials-charlene-curtis.aspx

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Charlene Curtis, former ACC Supervisor of Women’s Basketball Officials, died Thursday morning at the age of 67.
“Charlene was a pioneer in the sport of women’s basketball, but more importantly, she was an amazing individual,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Her kindness and class resonated throughout her life, and she will be missed by all who were fortunate to know her and her inspiring spirit.”
Curtis retired as the league’s supervisor of women’s basketball officials in April of 2019, following 11 years of service to the league and more than 24 years of affiliation with the conference as either a coach or administrator.
During her time in the conference office, Curtis oversaw the expansion of the women’s basketball officiating staff, the management of all evaluations and ratings, and numerous training and educational opportunities to promote the recruitment and development of ACC Women’s Basketball Officials. She created and developed local officiating clinics with a common curriculum, something that did not exist previously, and the clinics are now commonplace across the ACC footprint. During her tenure, the ACC added instant replay, developed a league-specific officiating website, and expanded the officiating observer program in partnership with the Colonial Athletic Association.
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[h=1]Former Wake Forest women's basketball coach Charlene Curtis dies; 'She loved her athletes and would do anything for them,' former AD Ron Wellman says[/h]
https://journalnow.com/sports/colle...cle_988989be-1f23-11ed-a89a-bbbdad1ef4e8.html

Charlene Curtis, the first Black women’s basketball head coach in ACC history at Wake Forest, has died.

“She was just a delightful person to work with, and she always was extremely supportive of her athletes,” said Ron Wellman, who as Wake Forest's athletics director hired Curtis. “She loved her athletes and would do anything for them, and she was so loyal to our department and the entire university.”

Curtis coached at Wake Forest from 1997 until 2004, and her teams compiled a 67-129 record in seven seasons. The Demon Deacons went 21-91 in ACC games.

She also served as the ACC’s supervisor of women’s basketball officials for 11 years before retiring in 2019.


Wellman said he wasn’t making a statement at the time of Curtis’ hire. He wanted the best possible coach and lured Curtis away from powerhouse Connecticut, where she was a top assistant for Geno Auriemma. And at Wake, Curtis always bargained for her program.


“She understood we couldn’t get everything she wanted," Wellman said Thursday, "but she always saw the positive side to everything.”




She didn't consider her race a big deal regarding her hiring at Wake Forest.

“Other people sort of pointed it out to me, but I was aware of it," Curtis said in February 2021, when she was recognized at a Wake Forest women's game at Joel Coliseum. "I guess because I was also the first African American women’s head coach at Radford as well it wasn’t on my mind as much.”


Wellman said Curtis also excelled in the ACC office.

“She definitely voiced her opinions and backed her officials when conflicts came about,” Wellman said. “She was passionate about it and did a great job.”

The news of Curtis’ death was posted on Radford University’s Facebook page.


“We are saddened by the news of the passing of Charlene Curtis," the post stated. "Our thoughts are with her friends, family, and every member of the Radford community who she impacted so greatly.”

Curtis was Radford's first Black women's basketball player, and she scored more than 1,000 career points and is enshrined in the Radford Athletics Hall of Fame.



"She was an outstanding student, a tremendous basketball player, an excellent musician, and a great coach and administrator," Radford athletics director Robert Lineburg said in a statement posted on Radford's site. "She has had and will continue to have a profound impact on our university. Charlene was the coach that made a difference in her players lives by teaching them so many foundational values that impacted them in so many positive ways. In addition, Charlene loved Radford University and remained involved throughout her life by devoting her time, service, and money to helping so many young people."
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Strangely nothing on the official site or the women's hoops twitter yet. I'm sure the Athletic Department will do something this season. Maybe they'll do a "Jam the Joel" game in her honor. Never heard a bad thing about her except for her win-loss record.
 
Very sad news. Coach Curtis was an incredible person, and a great representative of Wake Forest. I enjoyed covering her teams.
 
Never met her but 67 is extremely young to die. May she RIP.
 
Sad news that she died at such a young age.
Condolences to her family and friends.
 
Such sad news. As possibly the biggest women’s b-ball booster during some of her time as coach, I can attest to the fact that she was a very nice person and truly would do anything for her athletes. May she Rest In Peace.
 
Meh… The boards here were vicious to her when she was our coach.
 
PhDeac said:
Plenty of us posted on Rancho De Nada and ACC Boards back then. She didn't win many games, but who has at Wake? She should still be mourned.

Here is the official site write-up:
https://godeacs.com/news/2022/8/18/...urtis-chose-to-lead-so-many-could-follow.aspx
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All this. I was def posting on ACCBoards then. When you die, it really is about the lives you touched and she touched many. I’ll also point out that women’s basketball received almost zero support at that time and she was the first Black women’s coach in the ACC. The cards were always stacked way against her. She always represented the university professionally and she cared about the women she coached. Many lives were changed because she took a chance on them. That’s more than most can say.
 
awakegirl said:
All this. I was def posting on ACCBoards then. When you die, it really is about the lives you touched and she touched many. I’ll also point out that women’s basketball received almost zero support at that time and she was the first Black women’s coach in the ACC. The cards were always stacked way against her. She always represented the university professionally and she cared about the women she coached. Many lives were changed because she took a chance on them. That’s more than most can say.
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Well said. Condolences to her family and friends and to have an impact on others' lives is a legacy and a live well lived.
 
Always classy and defended her players relentlessly. RIP Coach, you touched many.
 
My student days overlapped briefly with her tenure as coach. I still remember meeting her at some campus function circa fall 1997. She was a very classy person. Always hated it that she was not more successful at Wake; felt when she was hired that she might turn the program around. I did not know she was ill and am very sorry she died so young. RIP, Coach Curtis. Thanks for being a Deac.
 
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