Six Women Elected To Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame As Class of 2024

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Six outstanding women have been elected to the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame as the Class of 2024. This year's class consists exclusively of women's student-athletes and administrators, with the upcoming Hall of Fame Induction Dinner, set for Saturday evening, May 4, serving as the culmination of the year-long celebration of 50 Years of Women's Athletics at Lehigh.

The newest group of electees includes women's basketball standouts Jessica DePalo '05 and Erica Prosser '11, women's lacrosse great Sue Coursen '85, multi-sport standout Susan Sachs '77, longtime administrator Roseann Corsi and Barbara Everhart Lipkin, who coached three women's programs and served as Lehigh's second director of women's athletics.

The six recently-elected members will be joined by two previous electees who will be formally inducted in May. Former basketball and softball coach Muffet McGraw was elected in 2019 and will be inducted in May along with former field hockey and lacrosse coach and administrator Judy Turner Baxter, who was elected last year.

Roseann Corsi
In a tenure that covered 47 years of service to Lehigh University and Lehigh Athletics, there were few, if any, student-athletes that were not influenced by the work done by Roseann Corsi. In her early days, Corsi worked with the legendary John Steckbeck as a coordinator for intramural sports and recreation. From there she went on to oversee Lehigh Athletics' public and community relations. Corsi was instrumental in the development of Lehigh's student-athlete community outreach efforts, including the award-winning C.O.A.C.H. program. Corsi spent two years as an assistant volleyball coach and later in her career became a representative for Lehigh's Athletics Partnership, where she helped spearhead fundraising efforts for Lehigh's women's basketball, women's lacrosse, softball and volleyball programs. Corsi retired from Lehigh in 2021 and resides in Bethlehem where she continues to attend Lehigh athletic events.

Sue Coursen
A defensive standout, Sue Coursen was one of the top performers on Lehigh's outstanding women's lacrosse teams in the early 1980s. A three-time ECC All-Star, Coursen was recognized as a second team IWLCA All-American in each of her final two seasons. As a senior in 1985, Coursen captained the Brown and White to a 13-3 season that included an East Coast Conference championship and a No. 8 national ranking. In her junior season, Coursen was a member of the Lehigh team that defeated Loyola in double overtime in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals. A 1985 Lehigh graduate, Coursen received the Mary O. Hurley Leadership Award, given to Lehigh's outstanding senior female leader. After graduation, Coursen spent more than a quarter century working for Bristol Meyers Squibb before retiring last June.

Jessica DePalo
A prolific scorer on the basketball court and a servant leader off of it, Jessica DePalo's final two seasons for the Mountain Hawks rank among the finest in school history. DePalo scored 549 points as a junior in 2003-04 to set a school record that stood for 19 years. She followed that up by scoring 536 as a senior and in 2004-05 became the first Lehigh women's basketball player to be named Patriot League Player of the Year. A 2005 Lehigh graduate, DePalo amassed 1,466 points for her career, ranking fourth in school history when she graduated. DePalo currently ranks seventh on Lehigh's career scoring list and is one of 12 players to reach both the 1,000-point and 500-rebound milestones. DePalo was a two-time Academic All-District honoree and as a senior received both the Mary O. Hurley Leadership Award and the Linny Fowler Service Award at Lehigh's year-end Athletics Convocation. She is in her 13th year at Columbia University, where she serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director overseeing their Success Through Well-Being program, which oversees all department matters on academics, career development, mental performance, sports nutrition, leadership, and well-being.

Barbara Everhart Lipkin
In the early days of Lehigh women's athletics, Barbara Everhart Lipkin provided leadership and mentorship to several of Lehigh's newest athletic programs. Lipkin served as the inaugural head coach for Lehigh's volleyball, women's basketball and women's lacrosse programs and succeeded Helen Bond Benson to become Lehigh's second Director of Women's Athletics, a position she held from 1977-1980. She spent six seasons as Lehigh's volleyball coach, leading the Brown and White to a 71-23 record, including an 18-2 mark in 1978 and a 24-9 record in 1979. Lipkin went 15-7 in three years as Lehigh's women's lacrosse coach including a combined 12-2 record in her first two seasons. Lipkin is retired and living in Lakewood, Colo., near her children and grandchildren. She remains an active participant in athletics.

Erica Prosser
One of three women's basketball student-athletes to have her jersey honored at Stabler Arena, Erica Prosser was a driving force behind Lehigh's back-to-back Patriot League championship teams in 2008-09 and 2009-10. A 2011 Lehigh graduate, Prosser earned Patriot League honors in all four of her seasons in the Brown and White, including Player of the Year accolades in 2009 and 2011. A three-time first-team All-Patriot League honoree, Prosser doubled up as the Patriot League's Defensive Player of the Year in her senior season. Prosser's leadership contributed to one of the most successful runs in program history as the Mountain Hawks went 94-35 over her four seasons with a pair of Patriot League titles and NCAA Tournament appearances and three total postseason appearances during her time in Bethlehem. After graduation, Prosser played professionally overseas and was named to the Patriot League's 25th Anniversary Team. Prosser is in her second year of Law School at the University of Illinois and is expected to graduate in 2025.

Susan Sachs
Susan Sachs, a 1977 Lehigh graduate, holds a distinguished place in Lehigh history for her efforts as a multi-sport athlete in the early days of Lehigh women's athletics and a trailblazer for women's sports during a transformative time at the university. Sachs arrived at Lehigh one year after Title IX was enacted and became a co-captain for the women's basketball and softball teams while also serving as a contributor in field hockey and volleyball. She was a member of the 1975 field hockey squad that went 10-0 in its third year as a varsity program. During her time, Sachs was a driving force in the push for equality in collegiate athletics, advocating for the necessary resources to support women's sports. Her efforts extended to securing uniforms, appropriate facilities, and funding—battles that were symbolic of the broader struggle for equality at a time when women were still fighting for their place in collegiate athletics. Sachs translated the determination and leadership skills she honed at Lehigh into a successful career as a media executive. She spent 17 years at Time Warner Inc., contributing to renowned publications including Time, Fortune Magazine, and Sports Illustrated for Kids. Sachs now serves as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Common Sense Media, Inc.

Muffet McGraw
Before turning the University of Notre Dame into a women's basketball power, Muffet McGraw spent five seasons on the Lehigh sidelines, collecting 88 victories and a .682 winning percentage, which remains the highest in program history. McGraw was a two-time East Coast Conference Coach of the Year and led Lehigh to an ECC title in 1985-86. She coached three women's basketball players who have already been inducted into Lehigh's Hall of Fame: Shawn Steward, Liz Feeley and Sherie Androlewicz; and five players who earned All-ECC honors, a group that includes current WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert '86. A member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, McGraw spent 33 seasons as the women's basketball coach at Notre Dame, where she amassed 848 wins and led the Fighting Irish to a pair of NCAA Championships (2000-01 and 2017-18). In December 2018, McGraw picked up her 900th career victory, notching the milestone against the same Lehigh program in which she started her coaching career. McGraw retired from coaching in 2020. She was recently immortalized with a statue in her name which marks the first time a woman who is not a saint has been recognized on Notre Dame's campus with a statue.

Judy Turner Baxter
A leader in the emergence of women's athletics at Lehigh, Baxter spent eight seasons as head coach of both the field hockey and women's lacrosse programs. From 1980-85 she also served as an Assistant Athletic Director and head of Lehigh's women's intercollegiate athletic programs. In field hockey, Baxter amassed a 74-48-20 record and guided the brown and white to back-to-back ECC titles in 1983 and 1984, with Lehigh ranked in the top 15 nationally in both seasons. As Lehigh's women's lacrosse coach, Baxter went 75-35-2 from 1978-85, winning an ECC title in 1985. Lehigh ranked in the top 10 nationally in both 1984 and 1985 and reached the NCAA quarterfinals in 1984. Baxter returned to coach the women's lacrosse team to a 10-4 record in 2003. Upon leaving her administrative position at Lehigh, Baxter officiated field hockey and lacrosse before embarking on a coaching career at the high school and youth levels, most notably at Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota, where she resides with her family.

The Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame currently includes 113 members across 25 sports and more than 140 years of intercollegiate athletics competition.

Lehigh University Athletics

Six Women Elected To Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame As Class of 2024

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