At its July 14 meeting, the Council of the District of Columbia honored longtime UDC faculty member and coach Bessie Stockard with a ceremonial resolution recognizing her lifetime accomplishments in athletics, academics and mentorship. The resolution noted her recent retirement as an associate professor of health, nursing and nutrition in UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), as well as her local and national achievements as a basketball and tennis player and women’s basketball coach. It saluted Stockard “for her trailblazing efforts in athletics and academia in the District of Columbia.”
The recognition is a fitting tribute to a barrier-breaking career. As a teenager in Nashville, Tennessee, Stockard excelled in basketball, earning an athletic scholarship to Tuskegee University. She also became a renowned paddle tennis champion at the playground where she worked, drawing challengers from across the city. Her father later surprised her with a tennis racket purchased on layaway. Stockard went on to compete in the American Tennis Association (ATA) for more than a decade, winning 12 ATA national titles, and on the professional Virginia Slims Circuit from 1971 to 1974 as its only African American player at the time.
Stockard joined Federal City College, a predecessor institution of UDC, to coach cheerleaders and majorettes. After women students told her they wanted an opportunity to play basketball, she founded the women’s basketball program in 1969, using donated jerseys and rotating practices among high school gyms across the District. Despite limited resources, the team gained a national reputation. In 1975, Stockard led the Federal City Pantherettes to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women National Championships.
The following year, Stockard was invited to serve as an assistant coach for the U.S. women’s national basketball team as they prepared for the 1976 Summer Olympics, becoming the first African American woman to serve on a U.S. national team coaching staff. Today, she is a member of the Tuskegee Hall of Fame, Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame, Black Tennis Hall of Fame and UDC Athletics Hall of Fame. In a tribute recognizing the impact of Title IX and the fight for equity in women’s sports, UDC Director of Athletics Patricia Thomas said, “To call Bessie Stockard an icon is an understatement.”
Stockard also coached UDC volleyball, and her influence extended beyond the court. She set a powerful example for students by fulfilling a lifelong dream: earning a doctorate in developmental education from Grambling State University in 2023 at age 90.
At her graduation, Stockard said: “I knew I had to finish what I started. When I recruited players, I looked for girls who had that mental mindset of wanting to work hard and doing everything it takes to succeed. I wanted girls who wanted to earn a college degree and who are willing to do the hard work to make that happen. And if that’s the kind of student-athlete I’m looking for, then that’s the kind of student I need to be too, regardless of my age. I just stayed focused on the goal and am proud that I was able to make it happen . . . It means a whole lot to me.”
The DC Council’s resolution recognizes that spirit and Stockard’s enduring impact. It concludes that the council “commends and thanks Dr. Stockard for her years of service at University of the District of Columbia, which have benefited and inspired countless students—particularly the young women whom she coached and mentored.”