RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's basketball coach's suite will be dedicated to program legend Charlene Curtis in a ceremony that will be held on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. as part of the alumni weekend celebration. All are welcome to attend the ceremony which will be located on the turf of the Radford Athletics Sport Performance facility in the Dedmon Center.
 
Curtis was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. She was the first African-American to play on the Radford women's basketball team in 1972 and the first 1,000-point scorer – male or female – in Radford basketball history, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.
 
She would go on to serve as the program's head coach from 1984-90, posting a 121-53 (.695) record overall and an incredible 46-2 (.958) mark in Big South play. Curtis was a two-time Big South Coach of the Year, leading the Highlanders to four Big South regular season championships, three Big South Tournament championships, and an appearance in the 1989 WNIT.
 
From there, Curtis would go on to become the first African-American women's basketball head coach in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference at Wake Forest. Down the road, she would become the head of officiating for women's basketball in the ACC and contribute to ESPNU and Fox Sports South as a women's basketball analyst.
 
Having received a Bachelor of Science in Music degree from Radford University in 1976, Curtis served on the Board of Visitors from 1978 to 1980 and was then reappointed to the BOV by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam in 2021.
 
Following the ceremony, the current Highlanders men's and women's basketball teams will be playing a doubleheader on Carilion Clinic Court at the Dedmon Center where Curtis will be recognized during each game.
 
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