Barbara Kennedy-Dixon was a star for Clemson University (1978–82) on and off the court. “Once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” she said. As women’s college basketball transitioned from the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) to the NCAA, she didn’t miss a beat. In fact, she scored the very first basket in the history of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. She established Clemson’s single season scoring record with 908 points and amassed 3,113 points during her college career.
Only a handful players have scored more than 3,000 points and 1,000 rebounds since the NCAA started sponsoring women’s basketball. Kennedy-Dixon was one, and she will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (WBHOF) posthumously in June in the veteran category. When she died in 2018 due to cancer, she was remembered as one of Clemson’s greatest student-athletes.
“That first basket is in the record books,” said Kennedy-Dixon’s husband, Marvin Dixon, who noted that his late wife has received several hall of fame honors, including Clemson and in their home state of Georgia. She was the first female to have her jersey (#42) retired at Clemson and was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame and Clemson Ring of Honor. “Even with all her accolades and everything that she’s done, she would never tell you,” he said.
Dixon said Kennedy-Dixon had a love for the sport of basketball that spanned her entire life. After graduating college, she embarked on a professional career, playing in Italy for two years and then in one of the fledgling U.S. women’s pro leagues (Women’s Basketball Association; WBA). When her playing days were over, she took a position at Clemson as an assistant coach for women’s basketball. In time, she took on an administrative role in the athletic department, serving as the senior women’s administrator from 2005–14 and assistant athletic director for athletic academic services from 2014–17.
“She was a person that just had the caring spirit,” said Dixon. “A lot of players will tell you they came to Clemson because of Barbara. She was able to transform their lives the way her life had been transformed … A key thing for her was being able to make a difference. She mentored both the women’s and men’s athletes.”
The other members of the WBHOF class of 2026 are players Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker, Isabelle Fijalkowski, and Amaya Valdemoro; Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve; Kirkwood Community College 36-year head coach Kim Muhl; and broadcaster Doris Burke.