Hall of Fame
A native of Shorewood, IL, Cathy Boswell of Illinois State University is the fifth honoree in the Missouri Valley Conference’s Institutional Great category.
The Institutional Great recognizes stand out student-athletes, coaches and/or administrators who competed or worked at a current league school, when the institution was not a member of the league.
Arguably the greatest women’s basketball player ever to compete for the Redbirds, she came to ISU from Joliet West High in Joliet, IL.
A four-year letter winner for ISU from 1979-1983, Boswell ended her collegiate career as the Redbirds’ all-time scoring (2,005) and rebounding (1,054) leader.
During her ISU career, she led Illinois State to 90 wins, including an NCAA bid (1983), 15th place in the AIAW national tournament (1981) and two women’s NIT bids (1980 and 1982). In 1983, she powered Illinois State to the first Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.
A 1983 graduate of Illinois State, Boswell was a member of the gold-medal winning USA women’s basketball team at the 1984 Olympic Games.
Boswell played professional basketball in Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and the ABL in the United States.