Cathy Rush

In 1990, Rush was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she did not want anyone to know. She went through chemotherapy successfully, and went on to become a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society.

Immaculata made it all the way to the title game in 1976, but again faced Delta State and again Delta State prevailed, this time 69–64. In 1977 Immaculata played in the consolation game for third place and lost to Tennessee 91–71. Although finishing fourth in the nation was a significant accomplishment, the impact of Title IX was allowing many schools to offer scholarships to the best players. Rush decided to retire to raise her family, and left active coaching with a record of 149-15 for a winning percentage of 91%.

The first nationally televised game is played by Maryland and Immaculata on January 27, 1975. Some sources report that Immaculata won 80–48, while others report 85–63.

Immaculata played Queens College on February 22, 1975, in front of 11,969 spectators. The arena played Helen Reddy's I Am Woman as the fans entered the arena. The game was a one-point game late in the game, when a foul and a technical were called against Queens but the wrong Immaculata player went to the line. The momentum swung to Immaculata in the confusion and the Macs won a close game 65–61.

The Immaculata team went on to win an unprecedented third consecutive championship in the 1974 tournament. After winning a ten-point victory over Kansas State, Immaculata had two close games, winning by four points over Indiana, and by two points over William Penn. In the final, Immaculata faced Mississippi State College for Women, but won by 15 points 68–53.

Although Shank, the leading player for the Macs, graduated in 1974, the team continued to play at a high level. In 1975, they again earned a spot in the national tournament, and reached the final game against Delta State, coached by Margaret Wade and featuring one of the best players in basketball history Lusia Harris. The Delta State fans had responded to the Bucket Brigade by acquiring wooden blocks as their own noisemakers. Unfortunately, what started as good fun turned ugly, with tempers flaring and some participants throwing dowels and blocks. When the Immaculata parents, following their tradition, brought their buckets to the game to act as noisemakers, they were met by a court order. Delta State had managed to convince a judge to issue a legal writ to bar noisemakers from the game. Delta State went on to win the game 90–81, to win the first of three consecutive championships.

Immaculata traveled to Australia in July 1974, playing 18 games over the course of the month-long trip, the first United States college team to play a game outside the United States.

Rene Muth, later to become Rene Portland, the long-time Penn State women's basketball coach, was on each of the championship teams. Her father owned a hardware store, and provided some buckets which some of the parents and the nuns, banged on with wooden dowels to make noise. This was the beginning of the Bucket Brigade. The team still wore pleated tunics and Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers. Some teams wore tunics, while others wore shorts. The Immaculata team wore tunics until the end of the 1973 season, then switched to a two piece blouse and skirt.

The 1973 Immaculata team won all twenty of their games, counting the post-season tournament to become the first undefeated college team for a season.

The Mighty Macs, a movie about the season leading to the winning of the first women's national basketball championship in 1972, was released in October 2011. Rush is played by Carla Gugino.

The win set up the championship between Immaculata and Queens, playing on the Queens home court. The venue had a seating capacity of 3,000, Some thought the 1972 run had been a fluke, but the repeat performance was convincing fans the Immaculata team was very good. In the championship game, the final score of 59–52 is consistent with a reasonably close game, but the score was 59–37 in the fourth quarter when Rush pulled her starters and the bench players allowed the Queens team to score 15 consecutive points. The win completed the first undefeated season in US college women's basketball history, and the second consecutive National Championship for Immaculata.

Before Rush decided to retire from active coaching, she and her husband Ed started a summer basketball camp. The camp, known originally in 1971 as the Cathy Rush Basketball Camp, was renamed as the Future Stars Camps, which still operates today (as of 2022). Many notable coaches worked as counselors at some of these camps, including Geno Auriemma and Muffet McGraw.

While Rush was at General Wayne Junior High, the coaching opportunity became available at Immaculata, an all-girls Catholic school with an enrollment of 400 students. The job came with some challenges—the gym had burned down and there were no plans to replacement it, so all games had to be away games. The salary was $450 per year and the school only had one basketball. Rush was only 22, barely older than the players she would be coaching. The five starting players were all commuters, driving to school for classes and practice. Yet Rush saw the positives, "It seemed like the perfect job – low key, no pressure, and a way to stay busy during the winter while my husband, Ed, was traveling." In addition to changes for Rush, the game was changing. The 1970–71 season was the first year of five player teams and the 30 second shot clock.

Their first opponent was South Dakota State. Immaculata won 60–47, to move on to the second round. The next day, they faced Indiana, and won a close game 49–46. Without any time off, they played the semifinal round against MSCW, who had won the national championship the prior year. The following day, they would face West Chester College once again, the team that had beaten them by 32 a few days earlier, and the national runner-up in both 1970 and 1971.

Rush decided to attend West Chester State College in nearby Pennsylvania, majoring in physical education. She played on the basketball team for the first two years, but when the basketball coach left, she dropped basketball and switched to gymnastics. She graduated in 1968.

Ed T. Rush also attended West Chester University, but graduated in 1964, the year before Cathy arrived. They met on a date, at a basketball game in the Palestra. Cathy was a freshman at the time. They resumed dating two years later, and were married on June 1, 1968.

A resident of Ventnor City, New Jersey, Rush grew up in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and graduated from Oakcrest High School in 1964. She received a Bachelor of Science in 1968 and a master's degree in education in 1972, both from West Chester University. She has two children with her ex-husband, former National Basketball Association referee and Supervisor of Officials Ed T. Rush.

In her freshman year, she attended the brand new Oakcrest High School. She played basketball for the high school team, and despite being a freshman, won the county scoring title. However, when she became a sophomore, she learned that the school had dropped interscholastic sports for girls. At the same time, a new teacher arrived with gymnastics experience. The teacher started a gymnastics team, and Rush threw herself into gymnastics. She was appointed team captain, and specialized in the trampoline. Although not an interscholastic activity, the team toured and put on halftime shows and demonstrations. Rush graduated from the high school in 1964.

The USA Basketball team had had success in the Pan American games with gold medals in 1955,1959, and 1963, but had come in second place in both 1967 and 1971. In 1975, the team was determined to win the gold, and Cathy Rush was named head coach. One of the leading players on the Pan American team was Lusia Harris, whose Delta State team had beaten Immaculata in the 1975 Championship game, and would do so again in 1976. There were other notable players on the team, such as Pat Head (Summitt), Ann Meyers and others, as well as a 17-year-old high school player, Nancy Lieberman.

Cathy Rush (born Cathy Cowan; April 7, 1947) was the head women's basketball coach at Immaculata from 1972 to 1977. She led Immaculata to three consecutive AIAW national titles from 1972–1974. She led the Mighty Macs to six consecutive final four appearances in her six seasons with the school, attaining a 149–15 record. Rush was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 7, 2008. She had also been inducted to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000 and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.

Rush was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 7, 1947 to John and Alice Cowan. She grew up in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, a township with over 40,000 residents in 2010, but approximately 5,000 when she was in elementary school. Her elementary school consisted of two rooms, with a single teacher for each room. One room housed the first through third grades, while the other room was for the fourth through sixth grades.

The Regional Tournament format included four games in three days, to reduce the cost of lodging. The Immaculata team won their first three games, and in the final game, faced Rush's alma mater, West Chester State. That game wasn't close, with West Chester State winning by 32 points 70–38. The team thought their season was over and headed home. When they arrived home, they were surprised by a welcome home pep rally. They didn't realize that the invitation for the AIAW national tournament would include regular season results—they were invited as the 15th seed of the 16 invited teams. They were one of six teams to lose a game in the regionals, and earn a spot in the first ever AIAW women's basketball tournament.