GREENSBORO, NC – UNC Greensboro Director
of Athletics Nelson E. Bobb announced Tuesday that the University
will honor Rita Wiggs and place her number in the rafters of
Fleming Gym among the University’s honored jerseys this
coming weekend.
The festivities will take place at halftime of Saturday’s 3
pm women’s basketball game between UNCG and Elon. It will be
a part of UNCG’s Women’s Weekend gathering, reuniting
all of the University’s female athletic alumnae.
“Given the magnitude of her accomplishments at a time when
women's athletics didn’t receive its due recognition on many
campuses, it is fitting that during this very special weekend, we
recognize the sustained accomplishments of Rita,” said Bobb.
“She led the Spartans for four years when there was little if
any recognition for the quality of her performances. Honoring her
No. 33 in the rafters of Fleming says thanks.”
Wiggs, who now serves as Commissioner of the USA South Conference,
was a four-year starter for the Spartans from 1971-75. She was a
vital part of the Spartans’ 1972 state championship team that
advanced to the AIAW Regional Tournament. During her time with the
Spartans, UNCG earned wins over NC State (UNCG’s only win
over the Wolfpack in 13 meetings), Tennessee, North Carolina, Duke,
Wake Forest and South Carolina. In her four seasons at UNCG, the
Spartans were 48-26.
Wiggs twice earned all-state honors, being named to the squad as a
junior and a senior. She led the state of North Carolina in scoring
as a senior, averaging 22 points per game. She held the
school’s career scoring record for a decade after her
graduation, finishing with 1,347 points. Today, she still sits
sixth all-time on the UNCG career scoring list. She is the only
player in school history to lead the Spartans’ in scoring all
four seasons. Her career average of 18.45 ppg is still tops
all-time of any UNCG player, male or female.
A 1975 graduate of UNCG and a bachelor’s degree in physical
education, she participated in the 1973 World University Games
training camp and was on a USA Regional All-Star team in 1974 that
competed against the USSR National squad. Wiggs went on to serve as
an assistant coach at NC State for five years, from which she also
earned a master’s degree in education, and as a head coach at
Methodist College for 13 years before moving into athletic
administration. Wiggs served as Director of Athletics at Methodist
University for seven years and President of the Dixie Conference in
1997-98. She has served as USA South’s Commissioner for the
past eight years, seven of which have been in a full-time
capacity.
Wiggs, a resident of Fayetteville, NC, was inducted into the UNCG
Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the Charter Class in 2000.
Her No. 33 will be hung in the rafters along with the honored
numbers of the six seniors from the class of 1996 – Scott
Hartzell, Brian Brunson, Jonathan Clifton, Skeet Woolard, Eric
Cuthrell, Gary Mearite – who took the Spartans to their first
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
- UNCG -