Meagan's Mom

Of all of the thousands of athletes who have come through here during TigerBlog's time, there hasn't been one quite like Meagan Cowher.

When word first came that Cowher was going to be playing basketball here, everyone's thought was the same: Bill Cowher's daughter is coming to Princeton. It didn't take her long to step way out of her father's shadow to create her own legacy here as one of the best female athletes in school history, as well as one of the most liked.

Bill Cowher, of course, was the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time. During Meagan's sophomore year, the Steelers won the Super Bowl; one of the enduring memories of the post-game celebration is Meagan, her two sisters and her mother on the podium with Cowher as confetti rained around them.

It was that moment that TB first thought of when he saw this weekend that Kaye Cowher had passed away at the young age of 54, the victim of skin cancer.

Kaye Cowher was more than just the wife of a football coach and the mother of three girls who grew up to be basketball players themselves (Lauren followed Meagan to Princeton, though she did not play basketball beyond her freshman year; Lindsey plays at Wofford).

Kaye herself was a great basketball player at a time when the women's game didn't enjoy nearly the popularity it does today. She played at North Carolina State, helping the Wolfpack to the first women's ACC title, and she then went on to play in a professional women's league.

It is because of the dedication of pioneering athletes like Kaye Cowher that so many little girls who followed have had the opportunities that they have, in basketball and all sports. The idea that girls would be prevented from playing sports is ridiculous today; not that long ago, it was a reality.

One of the little girls who took full advantage of her opportunities was Kaye's oldest daughter.

Everything about Meagan Cowher screamed out to be noticed during her four years at Princeton. She was a great athlete, an undergraduate student leader who took a lead role in the Varsity Student Athlete Advisory Committee and above all a friendly young woman who was always smiling her dazzling smile.

By the end of her career, she had come with 12 points of Sandi Bittler's career record for points in women's baketball with 1,671, and no men's player other than Bill Bradley has ever scored more points at Princeton than Cowher. She was one of two winners of the 2008 von Kienbusch Award as the top senior female athlete.

Since the inception of the Princeton Athletics website, Meagan Cowher's bio is by far the most viewed of any individual athlete. For the record, current men's lacrosse player Jack McBride is second all-time, while recently graduated men's hockey goalie Zane Kalemba ranks third.

Of any athlete who has competed here during TB's time, Cowher also had by far the most interview requests, largely to talk about her father. This wasn't easy for Cowher, who was asked over and over the same questions by people who knew little about her and who were usually just going down the same formulaic path (father is a successful football coach with three daughters and a big chin).

Despite this, Cowher almost always obliged. She spent literally hours answering the same questions over and over, always politely.

Her parents were regulars at Princeton games, especially after Cowher retired from coaching after Meagan's junior year and began to work on television.

TigerBlog never spoke to Bill or Kaye Cowher, and he knew Meagan on a "hi, how are you?" basis.

The most time TB ever spent with Meagan was when CNN wanted to interview her before the Super Bowl, and TB went with her to the studio they used in the Carnegie Center, a five-minute ride across Route 1.

Still, you didn't have to be around her much to know that she has a special quality about her. Part of that came from growing up so close to the spotlight, but much of it is simply innate.

The scene of the podium after the Super Bowl is blended with today's scene, of a family mourning the loss of its young matriarch, a family with such strong ties to Princeton Athletics, a family whose oldest daughter left such a mark on this University and especially this athletic department.

TigerBlog wishes them all the best in this saddest time for them.