Coach Maryalce Jeremiah in action. Photos by Matt Brown.

Jeremiah Inducted Into Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame

Titan Head Coach One of 22 Inductees for Class of 2008

December 17, 2007

By Jason Spenser, Sports Information

Cal State Fullerton head women's basketball coach Maryalyce Jeremiah is one of 22 inductees making up the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame & Museum's Class of 2008 it was officially announced.

Ceremonies will be held on May 17 in Columbus, Ohio.

"It is an extra special honor to be selected for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame of the State of Ohio where I was born and raised," Jeremiah said. "To be included in such a famous group of athletes and coaches simply for doing what I have loved all my life is as exciting as it gets for me. Words cannot express the pride and gratitude that I feel being a part of Ohio's great basketball tradition in this way."

The Toledo, Ohio, native and 1965 graduate of Cedarville University ranks among the top 50 winningest active coaches in the nation entering the 2007-08 season. She played three seasons for her alma mater from 1962-65 and coached the Yellow Jackets for nine seasons from 1969-78, accumulating a 104-75 overall record while leading Cedarville to the AIAW National Tournament in 1970 and a state championship in 1973.

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Cedarville was state runner-up in 1972 and advanced to the MAIAW Regional Tournament in both 1972 and 1973. Jeremiah was inducted as one of four charter members into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.

From there, she moved on to coach at the University of Dayton, posting two stellar seasons as head coach of the Flyers, leading them to a 69-5 overall combined and the AIAW Division II National Championship in 1980, earning her AIAW National Coach of the Year honors in the process.

Jeremiah also led Dayton to a national runner-up finish in 1979, two MAIAW regional crowns, and an OAISW State Championship.

Her 1979-80 squad still holds the school record for wins in a single season at 36-2 with her 1978-79 campaign standing second at 33-3 overall. As a result of their accomplishments, Jeremiah and the 1980 National Championship team were inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

Five years as head coach at Indiana University followed before Jeremiah became the head coach at Cal State Fullerton prior to the 1985-86 season.

Now in her 12th year at the helm of the Titans, Jeremiah is the winningest coach in the history of the program with 157 victories and has amassed 420 wins overall during her 28-year coaching career. Among the many honors she has won in her career is the Carol Eckman Award in 1990, presented annually by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to the coach who best represents sportsmanship and ethics in the coaching profession.

Jeremiah graduated from Cedarville High School, earned undergraduate degrees from both Cedarville University and Central State University in Wilberforce, OH, in 1965, and earned a master's degree and doctorate from Ohio State University in 1967 and 1973, respectively.

Notable among the 2008 class of hall of famers:
• Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons, who played nine seasons in the NBA and won six NBA titles as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls and the Lakers;
• Frank Howard, an All-American in both baseball and basketball at Ohio State who made his name in the Major Leagues, earning National League Rookie of the Year honors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1960 and as a member of the 1963 World Series Champion squad;
• Bob Huggins, head coach at West Virginia who led the University of Cincinnati to a 399-127 record and the NCAA "Final Four" in 1992;
• Neil Johnston, six-time NBA All-Star and three-time scoring champion with the Philadelphia Warriors, averaging 19.4 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game in 516 professional games;
• Semeka Randall, a three-time All-American at Tennessee who helped the Lady Vols to the 1998 NCAA National Championship and a 39-0 overall record; and
• Larry Siegfried, a member of Ohio State's 1960 national championship team who went on to win five NBA titles in seven years with the Boston Celtics.

A complete listing of the 2008 class along with short biographies on each inductee is available on the Hall of Fame website at www.ohiohoopzone.com.