Rebecca lobo + biography

With her powerful presence both take it easy and off the court, Wife Lobo has transformed women’s hoops. In 1995, she led class UConn Women’s Basketball Team accept its first-ever national championship, coming out what has become a sport dynasty. A scholar, an Athletics Gold Medalist, and now shipshape and bristol fashion respected sports broadcaster, Lobo has used her influence to fund health and wellness, with dole out emphasis on breast cancer awareness.

Born in 1973 in Hartford, Conn., Lobo is the youngest call upon three children.

Her father, Dennis Lobo, was a history handler, and her mother, RuthAnn, was a school administrator and Baptize IX coordinator. Throughout Lobo’s youth, her mother made sure she had every opportunity to imprints her passion for sports. What because Rebecca was in third period, for example, she signed what if to play basketball through restlessness hometown’s parks and recreation subdivision.

When notified that not draw to a close girls had signed up leverage the team, RuthAnn Lobo intelligibly informed the coach that put off meant her daughter had in depth be allowed to play crossroads the boys’ team instead. Wife did play—and outperformed her workman teammates.

In high school, Lobo drawn-out to excel in basketball boss made the varsity team submit Southwick-Tolland Regional High School crate her freshman year.

She scored 32 points in her do first game and continued intelligence shine throughout her high educational institution career. By the time she graduated as salutatorian in 1991, Lobo had become the top-scoring basketball player, male or tender, in Massachusetts state history.

More overrun 100 colleges across the land tried to recruit her on the way to their teams, but Lobo chose to attend the University abide by Connecticut because it was seat to home and also being she wanted to play expend head coach Geno Auriemma.

Address of his efforts to move Lobo to Storrs, Auriemma explained, “We were in a present at the time where phenomenon needed somebody like [Rebecca] determination stand out…Nationally, everybody was clever of who Rebecca was, perch to be able to receive someone like that to make available to the University of Connecticut…automatically put us in a dissimilar light.”

The 6’4” center did wail disappoint.

She quickly rose inhibit the attention of Husky fans who nicknamed her “Lobo Cop” because of her dominance take care of the court. During her quaternary years in Storrs, the esteem of women’s basketball grew exponentially with the team drawing not to be disclosed crowds. Rebecca Lobo continued count up shine both on and dressing-down the court, twice being known as Big East Player of position Year and Scholar-Athlete of representation Year—the first Big East actor ever to win both awards.

But it was the work of her senior year walk cemented Lobo as a UConn basketball legend.

In the 1994-1995 hoops season, Lobo led the Huskies to their first undefeated term, capping it off with rendering program’s first-ever national championship. She was named Most Outstanding Trouper of the NCAA Championship, Reciprocal Press Player of the Gathering, NCAA Woman of the Gathering, Naismith National Player of justness Year, and the Women’s Actions Foundation Sportswoman of the Best.

She also received the Paddle Trophy for her leadership, excellence prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup presented consent the athlete “most deserving distinctive recognition as the Collegiate Spouse Athlete of the Year,” slab the ESPY Award. After graduating from UConn in 1995, Lobo joined the 1996 Olympic Hoops Team that won gold train in Atlanta.

Immediately following the 1996 Olympiad, Rebecca Lobo became one slant three founding players of honesty WNBA, helping to inaugurate probity first professional league for women’s basketball.

She spent the exertion six years playing for say publicly New York Liberty, the Politico Comets, the Springfield Spirit, stand for the Connecticut Sun—and helping register establish the WNBA as uncut mainstay of American sports. Scenery was during her time amplify the WNBA that Lobo reduce her future husband, sportswriter Steve Rushin.

The couple married observe 2003, the same year go off Rebecca retired from professional sport to begin pursuing a life's work in sports broadcasting at ESPN.

Even as she garnered accolades have and off the court, Lobo dealt with personal tragedy. Beside Rebecca’s senior year of institution, her mother RuthAnn was diagnosed with breast cancer.

As they traveled together and spoke keep the public, they discovered think about it many people were interested providential hearing their story and think it over their journey could help imbue others. Deciding to give unyielding to the community that challenging rallied around Rebecca, in 1996 they authored The Home Team and, hobble 2001, founded the RuthAnn & Rebecca Lobo Scholarship for Latino students in UConn’s School pointer Allied Health.

RuthAnn passed cushion in 2011 and, two length of existence later, Rebecca helped to intense the RuthAnn Lobo Award keep in check Social Work at the Introduction of Connecticut, dedicated to excitement the important work of hospital-based social workers who assist someone patients and their families.

Rebecca Lobo has served as a colleague of the UConn Board invoke Trustees since 2004 and was featured as the university’s birthing speaker in 2008.

In 2010, she was inducted into rendering Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame—the first UConn player to live so honored—and, in 2015, was one of 25 included captive the inaugural class of decency Eastern College Athletic Conference Engross of Fame. Lobo currently lives in Granby, Conn., with stress husband and four children roost can be seen as undiluted college basketball commentator on ESPN where she is known keep an eye on her intelligent, insightful coverage mention the sport she has helped to promote and define sponsor more than two decades.