Phyllis Holmes remembered as athlete, coach, athletic director, and NAIA pioneer

Published: October 13, 2022

Phyllis Holmes

A woman who blazed a path for other women in basketball coaching, athletic administration, and international competition passed away recently in Arizona at the age of 82.

Phyllis Holmes, Greenville College class of 1961, got her start at the institution, first as a player, then as a basketball coach for 25 years, and ultimately as the school’s athletic director. She also served as coach or manager on several national and international women’s basketball teams, and was the first woman elected to head the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics in 1988.

Additionally, she is credited as the primary architect of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She took the hall from a concept to a reality– developing the framework for the organization, collecting data on potential recipients, and assembling artifacts of women’s basketball through the years. A decade later, in 2000, she was inducted into the hall of fame for her efforts to enhance women’s opportunities in the sport.

Born and raised on a farm in southeast Iowa near Winfield, she was first introduced to basketball when her father hung a basketball hoop on the side of a shed. She mastered the basics of the game there, and was a six-year member of the Winfield High School basketball team – playing that many years because she was talented, but also because there weren’t enough older girls to fill out the roster.

Following high school, she enrolled at Greenville College (now University) and was a standout member of the basketball team. Holmes started as a business major, but changed to physical education after her coach, June Strahl, convinced her it was acceptable to follow her dream of teaching and coaching. While playing for the Lady Panthers, she set the single-season scoring record, averaging 20 points per game in the 1959-60 campaign.

After graduating, she returned to her hometown in Iowa for three years, teaching physical education and coaching girls basketball at all levels. She then moved into the collegiate ranks, teaching physical education and coaching at Biola University in California for three years. In 1967, she was invited to return to Greenville to replace her former coach, June Strahl, who was retiring.

Holmes gained respect for her coaching abilities as she led the women’s team for 25 years, establishing a 60 percent winning record as she won more than 300 of her 500 games. Though her first love was basketball, she also coached field hockey, tennis, and volleyball.

Along the way, she also became involved in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics at both the state and national levels. In 1989, she became the first woman elected to serve as president of the organization. During her term as president, she launched the first NAIA women’s basketball championship and started efforts to hold a national tournament for women.

She also held positions with several U.S. women’s basketball teams in international competition, including the Olympic Festival in 1978, the Women’s World University Games in 1981, the Women’s World Championship in 1983, and the Pan Am Games in 1983.

In 1990, Holmes was inducted into the Greenville College Hall of Fame for coaching, and in 1998, her 1979-80 basketball team was similarly honored.

Greenville University will be honoring Holmes at the halftime of the women’s alumni basketball game this Saturday, October 15, during GU's Homecoming weekend. The game starts at 11 am in H.J. Long Gymnasium.