Nancy Hogan (2014)

1974 Multiple Sports In January of 1993 a letter was received by the athletic department at Ridgewood High School nominating Nancy Hogan as a candidate for what was going to be the first class to the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame. That class was never inducted and the hall of fame did not get officially organized until 2004, thirty years after the graduation of Nancy Hogan from Ridgewood High School. Hogan's nominator states "Nancy epitomizes the high standards of conduct and sportsmanship we look for in our Ridgewood students" When one looks at what Nancy achieved as a student athlete and then what she achieved as a coach of student athletes, it's easy to see why the nominator in 1993 was able to make such a bold statement. Nancy Hogan is a pioneer in the world of women's athletic endeavor, being one of the first of many generations of women to benefit from the passage of Title lX legislation by the Nixon administration on June 23, 1972. Like her female predecessors in the 1920's that benefited from varsity athletic competition at RHS, Nancy benefited from a forward looking school district that gave her the opportunity to compete before the forthcoming law demanded it. While at RHS from 1971 through 1974, Nancy participated in five different sports recognized at the varsity level. Her sports were Field Hockey, Volleyball, Basketball, Softball and Track. She earned eleven varsity letters in those sports out of a possible twelve , started every game for each team in each sport she played her junior and senior seasons (RHS was a three year high school at the time) and was named Captain of the Field Hockey and Basketball teams her senior year. In June of her senior year at RHS, Nancy was named the first female recipient of the "Ridgewood High School Award for Excellence in Athletics" along with her male counterpart Bob Groat.This award is the highest recognition the RHS athletic department can give to an individual student and the award had been presented annually to each classes outstanding male athlete since 1914.Sixty years later Nancy finally broke the gender barrier. Upon graduation from RHS in 1974, Nancy pursued her undergraduate education at Montclair State through 1976 and then transferred to Rutgers University in the fall of 76.She graduated with a BS in Public Health Administration in 1978 and would go on to earn a Ed.M from Boston University in 1981. While at Montclair Nancy was a member of the colleges Field Hockey, Basketball and Softball teams. Upon transferring to Rutgers she continued her collegiate athletic career concentrating on her number one game basketball, as a member of the Scarlet Knights varsity squad her junior and senior years 1976-78.Nancy played for the first full time female collegiate basketball coach in the country ,Theresa Grentz, an All American herself from Immaculata.While at Rutgers, Nancy garnered the nickname "Century Hogan" having scored the one hundredth point all five times the Rutgers Women's basketball team broke the century mark during her two varsity seasons there. Upon graduation from Rutgers, Nancy continued her passion for the game taking positions in the women's basketball coaching ranks with stops as an assistant coach at Boston University, Harvard University, UMass Amherst and Tufts University. She served as the head coach at Regis College for four years and was head coach for the Bay State Games North East Region women's collegiate team in 1987,88,92,93,98,99,2000,2001 and 2002. Nancy states that she felt her high school teams "were always a force to contend with and well coached" and her opportunity to "teach the game of basketball to her collegiate players, to give back as others had given to her and teach the meaning of teamwork first hand", as one of her greatest accomplishments and honors as a former athlete. Today Nancy resides in Medford, Mass and is Vice President for Government relations for First Realty Management in Boston. Nancy Hogan is a champion and leader in the development of women's athletics not only at Ridgewood High School, but nationally. Her passion and accomplishment as an athlete and coach certainly speak to her nominator's original statement in 1993.She does epitomize the best that Ridgewood has to offer. Always better late than never, the class of 2014 welcomes Nancy Hogan to the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame.