2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004

Patricia Ferguson ‘69
1969 Women’s Basketball National Champion
Hometown: Detroit, MI
High School: Central

From March 20-22 of 1969, Patricia Ferguson likely didn’t realize she was going to become part of history and help unleash the popularity of today’s NCAA and professional women’s basketball. Ferguson likely was content scoring points and winning games.

During that three-day stretch inside Hollinger Field House, Ferguson guided the Golden Rams to the first national women’s collegiate basketball championship ever contested in the United States. West Chester outlasted 15 other schools in the National Invitational Collegiate Women’s Basketball Tournament to become champions.

Had a most valuable player award been conceived for the event, Ferguson would have been the hands-down choice. She led West Chester to victories over Northeastern (79-33), Lynchburg (53-28) and Iowa (70-30) over the first three rounds, then scored a game-high 20 points vs. Western Carolina (65-39) in the title contest.

Ferguson averaged 23.3 points per game during the tournament and finished the entire 1968-69 campaign scoring 17.6 points per contest.

The health & physical education major arrived at West Chester State in the fall of 1965 after serving her country as a staff sergeant and pharmacy technician in the United States Army.

While in the military, Ferguson roamed the hardwoods representing the Army Proving Grounds in Maryland at the Second Army Women’s Tournament in 1965. She led her team to a second-place finish and earned MVP honors of the event after scoring 41 points vs. Fort Belvoir in the semifinals.

From 1969-74, Ferguson served as an instructor and coach at West Chester (Henderson) High School before moving on to Clarion State College from 1974-81. She eventually moved to the West Coast where she reenlisted into the California National Guard (1984-2000) and began her career with Federal Express (1989-2001). Ferguson completed her second military tour in 2000 and retired from Fedex in Los Angeles, CA, to her current home in Jacksonville, OR.