Stars for Old Dominion as they win the 1979 AIAW national championship in women’s basketball.
On March 25, 1979, Nancy Lieberman led Old Dominion University to the AIAW national championship, securing one of the most important collegiate titles of the pre-NCAA women’s basketball era. As the dynamic point guard known as “Lady Magic”, she orchestrated Old Dominion’s offense, combining scoring, rebounding, and playmaking against the nation’s top programs.
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) governed women’s college sports before the NCAA formally embraced women’s championships, and its national basketball title was the pinnacle of the sport. Lieberman’s performance helped cement Old Dominion as a powerhouse and showed that women’s collegiate basketball could draw serious competition, strategic sophistication, and strong fan interest.
This 1979 championship was historically significant as part of Old Dominion’s rise and the broader maturation of women’s college basketball. It provided a platform for Lieberman’s individual stardom—she was already a multi-time All-American—and validated the investment that schools were beginning to make in women’s athletic programs following Title IX. The victory contributed to a foundation on which the modern NCAA women’s tournament and professional leagues would later be built.