DANBURY, Conn. – Western Connecticut State University legendary head women's basketball coach, Jody Rajcula will officially be inducted to the Class of 2021 Little East Conference (LEC) Hall of Fame this Saturday, December 4 in between WestConn's women's and men's doubleheader with Plymouth State University at the O'Neill Center. The ceremony will take place at center court of Feldman Arena, approximately at 2:30 pm with a celebration to follow in the WCSU Hall of Fame.
Jody Rajcula built the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball team into one of the premiere programs in New England during her 21 seasons on the bench from 1981-2002. She posted a career record of 383-168 (.695) that included 10 20-win seasons and led WestConn to 16 consecutive postseason appearances (1984-2000), which included 10 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament berths and six trips to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) tournament.
Rajcula was named the 1993-94 Little East Conference (LEC) Coach of the Year after leading Western Connecticut to the LEC regular season and tournament championships in its first year of LEC membership. WestConn posted an overall record of 23-4, including an 11-1 mark in league play, while making the programs first NCAA tournament appearance as a LEC member. That season saw Shannon Flowers LEC Player of the Year and LEC Tournament Most Outstanding Player; she was joined on the all-conference team by Lisa Abbot and Michelle Cyr.
Rajcula's teams went 164-86 (.656) after Western Connecticut became a member of the LEC and won 20 games on four occasions. She was named the LEC Coach of the Year three times in total - she won the award for the second time in 1996-97 after WestConn went 25-5 and was honored in 1999-2000 as WestConn went 19-8 and won the LEC regular season title with a league mark of 12-2. Her players totaled 15 All-LEC honors during her tenure, including Flowers and 1994-95 LEC Rookie of the Year Amy Matthews.
WestConn received at-large bids to the NCAA tournament in both 1997 and 1998. The 1997 team advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating Bates (86-65) and Emmanuel (76-52), and the 1998 squad advanced to the Second Round after routing Middlebury 67-45 to open the tournament.
Rajcula was inducted into Western Connecticut's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007, and is a member of the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
First established in 2012, the LEC Hall of Fame now includes 93 individuals and two teams. The LEC's eighth Hall of Fame class, which was announced back in July, includes:
Wendy A. Rogers (Eastern Connecticut) - Women's Basketball
Jason D. Edwards (Eastern Connecticut) - Men's Track & Field
Tyler Kathan (Keene State) - Men's Basketball
Kelly Smith (Keene State) - Field Hockey
Becky Campo (Plymouth State) - Volleyball
Kelly Landry (Plymouth State) - Volleyball
Kyle Allaire (Rhode Island College) - Baseball
Eileen Fenton (UMass Boston) - Women's Basketball
Rachael Barbarossa (UMass Dartmouth) - Women's Soccer
Ray M. Cabral (UMass Dartmouth) - Women's Soccer Coach
Katariina Pulkkinen-Hoaas (Southern Maine) - Women's Basketball
1998 Eastern Connecticut Baseball Team
Each of the 2021 LEC Hall of Fame inductees will be individually featured in the coming weeks on LittleEast.com, and @LittleEastConf on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About the Little East Conference
The Little East Conference (LEC) was formed in 1986 when six public institutions gathered to create a single sport athletic conference, and has expanded into what is now New England's premier athletic conference for public institutions in NCAA Division III. The LEC features 21 championship sports and sponsors quality competition for our student-athletes, while following the Division III mission of "passion, responsibility, sportsmanship and citizenship." The Little East consists of nine primary institutions that encompass all six New England states – Castleton University (Vt.), Eastern Connecticut State University, Keene State College (N.H.), UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, Plymouth State University (N.H.), Rhode Island College, University of Southern Maine, and Western Connecticut State University.
