Hall of Fame
A pioneer in women’s intercollegiate athletics in the State of North Carolina, Betty Jo Clary was inducted into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
In a coaching career that spanned three decades, the native of High Point served as head women’s basketball coach at Campbell from 1976-81 where she guided her teams to a 70-44 record and five-straight winning seasons.
A graduate of Western Carolina University, Clary returned to her hometown where she guided the High Point College women’s basketball team to a 112-52 record and led three of her teams to unbeaten records in the 1960s. She also coached field hockey, golf, softball, tennis and volleyball during her collegiate career.
In the early ‘60s, Clary played a vital role in bringing about the first women’s basketball tournament in North Carolina from which the winner qualified for regional play.
During her tenure at Campbell, Clary attended the AIAW national convention in which institutions made clear their intent to return home and align with men’s conferences. That point began Campbell’s movement to NAIA, then to NCAA Division I competition for women’s sports.
She coached a number of outstanding student-athletes at Campbell, including Ronda Mueller Langdon, a 1993 inductee into the Campbell Sports Hall of Fame, and Wanda Watkins, who went on to serve as head women’s basketball coach for 35 years after taking over for Clary in the 1981-82 season.
Clary also served as a physical education instructor at Campbell from 1976-88.
