FAIRFAX, Va. - George Mason University women's basketball and George Mason athletics is recognizing and celebrating 50 years of women's basketball during the 2023-24 season, featuring an alum who played in some of the first seasons of Division I basketball at Mason, Tracy Lyle Harding (91').
Any alumni interested in attending the 50th Anniversary Alumni Celebration prior to the Jan. 28 Homecoming Game, please click here to register!
Harding played for George Mason for three seasons beginning in 1987. Although her playing career was cut short because of injuries, the self-proclaimed basketball junkie has been a part of coaching the sport she loves for 20 years. Harding is in her fourth season as the head coach of Harrisonburg High School in the Shenandoah Valley. The native of Clintwood, Virginia won a high school state title as a player for the Greenwave team, and twice as an assistant coach at East Rockingham when the Eagles captured state titles in 2012 and 2013.
Throughout the year, the program and department will be highlighting major milestones, events and athletes over the past 50 years. One of the first women's varsity sports offered at the university, women's basketball saw the signing of Title IX and the transition into a Division I program less than 10 years after its inception.
Q&A: TRACY LYLE HARDING
Q: How did you choose Mason?
A: George Mason's Head Coach Jim Lewis reached out through some mutual people that were recruiting me when I was in high school. He knew some other college coaches had come to see me play in the state tournament and in the East-West All Star Virginia game. He started recruiting after the high school season was over because we played in the fall back then. When Coach came to visit, I set up a scrimmage with a group of high school boys. We played basketball in the gym while Coach Lewis watch from the stands. Afterwards, he came over to my house and visited with my family and then he offered me full scholarship to come to Mason.
Q: How was the recruiting process when you were in high school?
A: I'm from an extremely small high school (Clintwood) that had eighth grade through 12th really only had probably 200 to 300 students total between the five grades. Coming from a small rural community, the only exposure I had was at basketball summer camps. They were five-star camps I attended at the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech. We didn't have social media where you could just put stuff online and coaches can see you, so it was quite a bit different. I was recruited by several schools but only offered partial scholarships. I wanted to have a full D1 scholarship and coach Lewis offered me my first full scholarship offer.
Q: Who was a role model for you in basketball?
A: My learning came from following Pat Summit at the University of Tennessee. Most of my family went to Tennessee so I grew up going to all the football games and the home games for women's basketball. I attended her camps as a kid and worked her camps as a counselor my first two years at Mason. I learned a lot from following her and trying to be around her as much as I could and reading her books and watching her games as much as possible since I was probably 10 years old.
Cheryl Miller was someone I watched growing up. I remember my dad took me to Rupp Arena when I was a junior in high school to the Final Four to see USC play as well as Tennessee. I also went to the 1990 Final Four in Knoxville where Kim Mulkey was playing at Louisiana Tech. It was just amazing for me to see those teams and players.
Q: A funny or weirdest memory from your time at Mason?
A: Coming from a small rural community I have a very country accent, so from there to Fairfax was a huge transition for me, literally taking the country girl and put her in the city. The girls on the team of course they were from all different places, but they seem to get quite a kick out of me just because of my accent. That was something great about Mason, getting to know people from all over the place, not just on the basketball team. I met students from all different nationalities being just outside of DC.
Q: What did you do after graduation?
A: I graduated in 1991 and got married to my husband Danny, a member of Mason's varsity club trap & skeet team that won 10 national championships from 1986-1995. Danny was a three-time national champion. We started a family and had four children. We own the Flying Rabbit Sporting Clays in Mount Crawford. I've been the head girls' basketball coach at Harrisonburg High School since 2020 but have been involved as an assistant at several high schools and colleges in the Shenandoah Valley for the past 20 years, including as an assistant at Eastern Mennonite University before accepting the head coaching position at Harrisonburg HS.
Q: The Patriot Center opened in 1985, just a few years prior to your arrival at school. What were your thoughts about playing in a big arena?
A: The men were playing in in the Patriot Center so was there a push at that time for the women to play there as well. My first season we played predominantly at the in the PE Building. We did play some games at the Patriot Center my sophomore year and loved it! One of my memories was when the LA Lakers were in town to play the Washington Bullets. They came to the PE building to practice, and I remember meeting some of them as we were coming out of practice, and they were going in.
Q: What do you like about coaching?
A: It's all about the relationships. I really enjoy building those relationships with these young women, helping them with their confidence, self-esteem and help them just to grow and just have fun playing the game that we all love.
