Margaret Ward

Athletic Director and Women’s Basketball Coach, 1951-84

Class of 2015

In addition to teaching physical education and coordinating the intramural program at the College, Margaret Ward was the first athletic director of the Brooklyn Campus and was the long-time women’s basketball coach, serving from 1951 to 1984. Her teams had great success competing against schools across the metropolitan area, such as St. John’s, LIU, Molloy, St. Francis and countless others. Her tenure was highlighted by the only undefeated season in school history, in 1963-64.

“For many years Miss Margaret Ward led the athletic program at St. Joseph’s College for Women, and she inspired countless students to attempt and achieve things they would otherwise never have tried,” said former SJC President S. Elizabeth Hill, C.S.J., J.D.

“She was a wise counselor, a great coach, a kind and supportive guide. She taught by example, and she lived up to the high standards she set for herself and her students and teams. Miss Ward truly deserves to be among the first to be enrolled in the Brooklyn Hall of Fame!”

Prior to joining SJC, Ward enlisted in the Navy for three years before attending New York University, where she was a three-sport letter winner in swimming, tennis and bowling before graduating in 1950. From the onset of her long career at St. Joseph’s, she was always considered an innovator, introducing a wide variety of sports in her dual role of teaching physical education and coordinating a vibrant intramural program, which included sports such as archery, bowling, golf and badminton. As a basketball coach, her best teams dominated the hardwood during the ’60s and early ’70s, as SJC was considered a force to be reckoned with around the women’s hoops scene in the NYC area.

Miss Ward, as her students and players affectionately referred her to, now lives in Massachusetts and still occasionally can be found playing a few holes on the golf course near her home. She has positively influenced hundreds of young women during her 30-plus years at St. Joseph’s, and is deeply revered and loved by all whose lives she touched.