By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech is hosting its annual Basketball Legends Night on Saturday, Feb. 1, when the Golden Eagles host Tennessee State in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader in the Hooper Eblen Center. Tip for the women's game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT while tip for the men's contest is slated for 7:30 p.m.
All former players, coaches, trainers and managers are invited back to Cookeville to take part in the night. Alumni of either the men's or women's basketball teams, as well as their guests, will be provided complimentary tickets to both games. Tickets will be available in the lobby of the Eblen Center at the alumni check-in table opposite from the Tech ticket office.
The Tech women's team will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1989-90 teams' OVC regular season and tournament titles, the 25th anniversary of the 1994-95 squad's OVC regular season championship and the 20th anniversary of the 1999-2000 team's OVC regular season and tournament crowns. All women's basketball alumni in attendance are invited to the floor of the Eblen Center at halftime of the team's contest against the Tigers for a special recognition.
The Golden Eagle men's team will be celebrating its 35th anniversary of the 1984-85 team's OVC regular season championship and the 15th anniversary of the 2004-05 squad's OVC regular season title. All men's basketball alumni in attendance are invited to the floor of the Eblen Center at halftime of the team's contest against the Tigers for a special recognition.
1989-90 Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Championship Team
It was a special year for the 1989-90 Tech women's squad, one that ended in multiple titles. Head coach Bill Worrell led the purple and gold to a perfect, 12-0 mark in OVC play and 26-5 overall record, securing the team's second title under his leadership, and first outright. The Golden Eagles doubled down to claim the OVC Tournament crown as well, the team's second of what would become five straight tournament titles. The team also claimed a victory over Richmond in the NCAA Tournament, 77-59, one of three NCAA Tourney wins in program history. Four of the team's regular starters, Angela Moorehead, Cecilia Ramsey, Melinda Clayton and Shawn Monday would eventually be enshrined in the TTU Sports Hall of Fame.
1994-95 Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Championship Team
In what would go down as one of the more competitive years in OVC play, the purple and gold battled to claim a share of the 1994-95 regular season title, the team's fifth in six seasons. Worrell's group compiled a 19-13 overall mark with a 12-4 record in league play. That season, the No. 2 seeded Tech squad took No. 1 seeded Tennessee State down to the wire in the OVC Tournament title game, falling to the eventual champs 66-63.
1999-2000 Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Championship Team
Two more championships found a permanent home in Cookeville thanks to the 1999-2000 squad, a group that combined for a 24-9 overall mark and 16-2 record in league play. After easily claiming the OVC regular season crown, Tech won three straight games in the OVC Tournament by a dominant average of 17 points to earn its first of back-to-back titles. The 1999-2000 team boasted three more future TTU Sports Hall of Famers in its starting lineup, including Janet Holt, Diane Seng and current Golden Eagle assistant coach, Allison Clark.
1984-85 Tennessee Tech Men's Basketball Championship Team
It had been over 20 years since the Golden Eagle men's team had finished a season atop the OVC when the 1984-85 squad took its turn. The purple and gold outworked its opponents to the tune of an 11-3 league mark and 19-9 overall record, claiming the conference's regular season title. Led by future TTU Hall of Famer Stephen Kite, Tech dropped a heartbreaker in the seminfinals of the OVC Tournament to in-state rival Middle Tennessee, 54-52. Current associate athletic director Frank Harrell served as an assistant to head coach Tom Deaton during the title run.
2004-05 Tennessee Tech Men's Basketball Championship Team
The most recent OVC regular season title came to Cookeville by way of the 2004-05 Tech squad, a team that strung together a 12-4 record in league play under head coach Mike Sutton. The team's 18-11 overall record came with a healthy dose of the league's Player of the Year Willie Jenkins. Tech claimed a first-round victory in the OVC Tournament over Eastern Illinois before falling in the semifinals to in-state foe Austin Peay, 67-61.
