Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCLA on March 29, 2026 , Loss , 58, to, 70
/
Final
Women's Basketball
58
vs UCLA
70
Photo by: Duke Athletics
Duke Women's Basketball 50th Season: Betsy Bergeron Q&A
2/13/2025 6:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
In honor of the 50th season of Duke women's basketball, we had a chance to catch up with some of our storied alums and talk with them about their background, the history and pioneers of the Duke women's basketball program, favorite memories, the growth of women's basketball and women's basketball as a whole, what it means to be a part of The Sisterhood, among other topics.
First up is Betsy Bergeron, one of the members of Duke's first varsity team who played for the Blue Devils from 1975-79.
Q: TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHEN DID YOU PLAY AT DUKE?
A: My name is Betsy Bergeron. I played basketball at Duke from 1975-1979. I grew up in Connecticut and I still live in Connecticut. I live in Danbury now.
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Q: WHAT YEARS DID YOU PLAY AT DUKE AND WHAT INTERESTED YOU ABOUT THE SCHOOL?
A: I played all four years from 1975 to 1979. My dad also went to Duke and played baseball for Jack Coombs. He was never one to pressure me as far as where to go to school, he just said, "why don't you look at it?" We came down for a visit between my junior and senior year in the summer. We drove down and, you know, it was like, you see that chapel and you see the chapel drive. And I thought, oh my gosh, this is a college. This is what I imagined college to look like.
Â
Q: WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE DUKE?
A: My other passion besides basketball is music. I thought, okay, I'm going to apply to a couple of conservatories. If I'm good enough to get in, I'll just play basketball for fun. If I'm not good enough to get in, then I want to go to a school where I can play varsity basketball and major in music. I went to my audition at Eastman School of Music up in Rochester, N.Y., and I blew the audition. So, I figured I'll go somewhere else, and Duke fit the bill perfectly for me. They had varsity basketball, and they had a music major. I went with the intent of being a piano performance major and my academic advisor freshman year, Dr. David Maves, quickly advised me that there weren't enough hours in the day for me to be a piano performance major and play basketball and have a life. He suggested I think about what else I would do with music, and I thought immediately of teaching and that fit right in there. And that's what I did. Forty-two years later, I finally retired from teaching high school music. That's what led me to Duke and that's what I did. Whenever my students would ask about Duke and if it is a good school they should look at, I'd always say yes. I'll never forget – one of my students, he's long graduated now, but he desperately wanted to go to Duke, and he asked me to write him a recommendation, so, I did. And when he got in, he came running into my music theory classroom wearing a blue plastic blue devil on his head. And he just ran around the room and then ran out. And that was his way of telling me that he got into Duke. So that was, you know, that was cool. It's nice to have those connections. That was great.Â
Â
Q: WHAT ARE SOME MEMORABLE OFF-COURT MEMORIES FROM YOUR TIME AT DUKE?
A: The first time I had ever done an overnight trip – It was the neatest thing in the world. I spent probably three out of my four dollars meal money for dinner. The next morning, I just had a cup of tea, and one of my teammates let me have some of their money for breakfast. Everybody was just really, really nice and while we were competitive on the court, we looked out for each other off the court.
Â
Q: WHO WERE THE COACHES THAT HELPED LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AND WHAT MADE THEM SUCH GREAT PIONEERS?
A: Emma Jean Howard was my coach the first two years. She also coached volleyball. Debbie Leonard came my junior year, and that's where the program really started to take off. Debbie was a very knowledgeable coach. The thing that impressed me about Coach Leonard was her willingness to put herself out there for the good of her players and for the good of her program. Debbie really got the program off the ground.
Â
Q: HOW HAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, AND WOMEN'S ATHLETICS AS A WHOLE, EVOLVED OVER TIME?
A: As far as the evolution of the women's basketball program, holy smokes, it's so fast. Things are moving at a really good level. Having access to film after the game – we never did film study the whole time I was there – all the advancements in technology have benefited the women's program. I know they have their own locker room now on West Campus, which is a very big deal. Once we started getting scholarship players who could get a good education and be able to play basketball, I think that just kind of really boosted the program a lot. And just in terms of women's athletics, it's just so nice. And the age of social media, I think, has certainly helped women's athletics come to the forefront and just be something that is right in front of people all the time. I think that's good because it didn't used to be that way. It's just grown by leaps and bounds. I know it's not totally on par with the men's sports, but it's getting there.
Â
Q: WHAT DOES 50 YEARS OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEAN TO YOU?
A: I'd love to see this current team go back to the Final Four. To me, that would just be the culmination of a wonderful celebration of these 50 years. I know we've gotten there before, but we haven't gotten to the top of the mountain yet, but we will. We will – I have complete faith in that. But I think for this group of women, just appreciating where things are – that it hasn't been all easy. And I'm not saying that we walked uphill both ways two miles in the snow, but what they have now, and what we had, is just so completely different. But talk about support. These women have a lot of support, a lot of support from all of us.Â
Â
Q: WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL?
A: I think every one of the women that's playing right now has such a unique opportunity because the whole leadership thing under Kara. I've played some of her videos to my choirs, because what she says applies in such a global way. These women have an amazing opportunity to learn how to lead and how to react to adversity from some of the greatest leaders in sports and in life. I used to joke with my students all the time because I'm 5'4" on a good day, and they wouldn't believe I played basketball. Now I wouldn't even be the water girl! And they crack up because it's so funny. I will always support Duke Women's Basketball because it gave a lot back to me in the day. I just take great pleasure in being a part of it all.
Â
First up is Betsy Bergeron, one of the members of Duke's first varsity team who played for the Blue Devils from 1975-79.
Q: TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? WHEN DID YOU PLAY AT DUKE?
A: My name is Betsy Bergeron. I played basketball at Duke from 1975-1979. I grew up in Connecticut and I still live in Connecticut. I live in Danbury now.
Â
Q: WHAT YEARS DID YOU PLAY AT DUKE AND WHAT INTERESTED YOU ABOUT THE SCHOOL?
A: I played all four years from 1975 to 1979. My dad also went to Duke and played baseball for Jack Coombs. He was never one to pressure me as far as where to go to school, he just said, "why don't you look at it?" We came down for a visit between my junior and senior year in the summer. We drove down and, you know, it was like, you see that chapel and you see the chapel drive. And I thought, oh my gosh, this is a college. This is what I imagined college to look like.
Â
Q: WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE DUKE?
A: My other passion besides basketball is music. I thought, okay, I'm going to apply to a couple of conservatories. If I'm good enough to get in, I'll just play basketball for fun. If I'm not good enough to get in, then I want to go to a school where I can play varsity basketball and major in music. I went to my audition at Eastman School of Music up in Rochester, N.Y., and I blew the audition. So, I figured I'll go somewhere else, and Duke fit the bill perfectly for me. They had varsity basketball, and they had a music major. I went with the intent of being a piano performance major and my academic advisor freshman year, Dr. David Maves, quickly advised me that there weren't enough hours in the day for me to be a piano performance major and play basketball and have a life. He suggested I think about what else I would do with music, and I thought immediately of teaching and that fit right in there. And that's what I did. Forty-two years later, I finally retired from teaching high school music. That's what led me to Duke and that's what I did. Whenever my students would ask about Duke and if it is a good school they should look at, I'd always say yes. I'll never forget – one of my students, he's long graduated now, but he desperately wanted to go to Duke, and he asked me to write him a recommendation, so, I did. And when he got in, he came running into my music theory classroom wearing a blue plastic blue devil on his head. And he just ran around the room and then ran out. And that was his way of telling me that he got into Duke. So that was, you know, that was cool. It's nice to have those connections. That was great.Â
Â
Q: WHAT ARE SOME MEMORABLE OFF-COURT MEMORIES FROM YOUR TIME AT DUKE?
A: The first time I had ever done an overnight trip – It was the neatest thing in the world. I spent probably three out of my four dollars meal money for dinner. The next morning, I just had a cup of tea, and one of my teammates let me have some of their money for breakfast. Everybody was just really, really nice and while we were competitive on the court, we looked out for each other off the court.
Â
Q: WHO WERE THE COACHES THAT HELPED LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AND WHAT MADE THEM SUCH GREAT PIONEERS?
A: Emma Jean Howard was my coach the first two years. She also coached volleyball. Debbie Leonard came my junior year, and that's where the program really started to take off. Debbie was a very knowledgeable coach. The thing that impressed me about Coach Leonard was her willingness to put herself out there for the good of her players and for the good of her program. Debbie really got the program off the ground.
Â
Q: HOW HAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, AND WOMEN'S ATHLETICS AS A WHOLE, EVOLVED OVER TIME?
A: As far as the evolution of the women's basketball program, holy smokes, it's so fast. Things are moving at a really good level. Having access to film after the game – we never did film study the whole time I was there – all the advancements in technology have benefited the women's program. I know they have their own locker room now on West Campus, which is a very big deal. Once we started getting scholarship players who could get a good education and be able to play basketball, I think that just kind of really boosted the program a lot. And just in terms of women's athletics, it's just so nice. And the age of social media, I think, has certainly helped women's athletics come to the forefront and just be something that is right in front of people all the time. I think that's good because it didn't used to be that way. It's just grown by leaps and bounds. I know it's not totally on par with the men's sports, but it's getting there.
Â
Q: WHAT DOES 50 YEARS OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEAN TO YOU?
A: I'd love to see this current team go back to the Final Four. To me, that would just be the culmination of a wonderful celebration of these 50 years. I know we've gotten there before, but we haven't gotten to the top of the mountain yet, but we will. We will – I have complete faith in that. But I think for this group of women, just appreciating where things are – that it hasn't been all easy. And I'm not saying that we walked uphill both ways two miles in the snow, but what they have now, and what we had, is just so completely different. But talk about support. These women have a lot of support, a lot of support from all of us.Â
Â
Q: WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF DUKE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL?
A: I think every one of the women that's playing right now has such a unique opportunity because the whole leadership thing under Kara. I've played some of her videos to my choirs, because what she says applies in such a global way. These women have an amazing opportunity to learn how to lead and how to react to adversity from some of the greatest leaders in sports and in life. I used to joke with my students all the time because I'm 5'4" on a good day, and they wouldn't believe I played basketball. Now I wouldn't even be the water girl! And they crack up because it's so funny. I will always support Duke Women's Basketball because it gave a lot back to me in the day. I just take great pleasure in being a part of it all.
Â
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