In 1980, Joe Paterno hired the only head coach during his tenure as Penn State’s athletic director.
Maureen Theresa Muth “Rene” Portland went onto a 27-year (1980-2007) coaching legacy that will always be remembered.
“At the time, I thought she was right for Penn State, and I feel good about it,” Paterno said 22 years after hiring Portland.
Eight years ago today, the legendary Lady Lion coach died after a three-year battle with peritoneal cancer.
Portland was 65 living in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.
Born and raised in Broomall, Pennsylvania, she transformed Penn State into a national powerhouse.
By the time she resigned in 2007, Portland had led Penn State to an incredible 21 NCAA Tournament invites, 11 Sweet Sixteen appearances, four Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four in 2000.
She also guided Penn State to its first AP national ranking at No. 1 during the 1990-1991 season.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Portland also coached Penn State’s first All-Americans: Kelly Mazzante, Suzie McConnell, Susan Robinson and Helen Darling.
She earned National Coach of the Year honors in 1991 and 2004 and was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the legendary 1972-1974 Immaculata College “Mighty Macs” teams.
Portland, as a player, helped lead the “Mighty Macs” to three consecutive national women’s college basketball championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974.
Current head coach of the Lady Lions and former player of Portland, Tanisha Wright, showed her respects to her former coach at her introductory press conference in March: “A special thanks to Rene Portland for taking a chance on me and opening the door for the opportunity to sit where I’m sitting… I know there is so many of you who want to see this program back to where it has been in the past, and so we’re looking to rebuild that, and we know we have to build trust in that.”
Then in 2005 towards the end of Portland’s career, a former player, Jennifer Harris, sued Portland and the school for violating Penn State’s policy that prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation. Even though Portland disputed the allegations as “flawed,” an internal investigation found that she had created a “hostile, intimidating and offensive environment.” She was suspended for one game and fined $10,000. Penn State, confidentially, settled the lawsuit with Harris and Portland resigned as coach in 2007.
After Harris filed her lawsuit, she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Portland was “one of the best coaches in women’s basketball, without a doubt.”
Portland finished her head coaching career with an overall record of 693-265 with 606 of those wins being at Penn State.
