By Matthew W. Maxey | October 29, 2014 | Originally published in Sports & Entertainment Nashville
Betty Wiseman is a pioneer of women’s basketball at Belmont University without question. The numerous awards and Hall of Fame inductions alone confirm that, but what those accolades can’t show is her enormous heart and desire to share opportunities.
“This is not all about me, but how God has orchestrated my life. He has just blessed me so much for the opportunities that I’ve had. Belmont has been so good to me, Belmont has allowed me to pursue my dreams and try some different things.”
Wiseman’s basketball career began at Portland High School in nearby Portland, Tenn., where she led her team in scoring five consecutive years. She then enrolled at Belmont and after earning her degree in 1965, was quickly named Associate Professor of Health and Physical Education the following year.
In 1968, four years prior to the passing of Title IX legislation, Wiseman approached Belmont president Herbert C. Gabhart about starting a women’s basketball program. Belmont agreed. “The little girl inside of me that hadn’t gotten to play enough still wanted to, so at the time it just seemed like the right thing to do.”
It wasn’t easy in the early days – the new women’s team could not practice until the men’s team had finished up each day. “If the gym wasn’t available until nine or 10 at night, then that was when we practiced.” In that first year, with a limited number of players, Wiseman even suited up as a player-coach for part of the season.
Wiseman also began hosting basketball camps for local middle and high school girls. One player who passed through her camp was a young Pat Head Summitt. “Who Pat was as a coach, was who she was as a player,” Wiseman said.
In her 16 years of coaching, Wiseman led her teams to a record of 248-152 and played in four consecutive National Women’s Invitational Tournaments from 1973-1977. Her coaching earned her induction into the Belmont Hall of Fame at just 37 years old, and in 2004 she became the first Belmont coach or student inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
“It is the players,” she said, of what she looks back on most fondly. “They are my girls, they are my family.”
When her coaching days drew to a close, Wiseman made a seamless transition into administration, becoming an assistant athletics director and senior women’s administrator, helping guide Belmont’s transition from NAIA to NCAA. It was as an administrator that two of her greatest passions came together – her faith and her love of sports – leading to the formation of the Sports Evangelism Team in 1992, which has since traveled to places like Poland, Costa Rica, Portugal, Venezuela, Brazil and Malta.
“The most gratifying thing of my career is watching the transformation of students in general, from the time they come to Belmont to the time they graduate. It’s all about people for me.”
While many know her as a pioneer on the basketball court and for women’s athletics, anyone who has spent time speaking with Wiseman knows there is much more. She is an example – of doing things the right way; the honest way, the Wiseman way.
Tags: Belmont, Betty Wiseman, Pat Head Summitt, Women’s Basketball