Immaculata University: A Tribute to our Beloved #55, Rene Muth Portland '75
IMMACULATA, Pa. - The Immaculata University community is saddened by the passing of former standout women's basketball player Rene Muth Portland '75, who died Sunday in Tannersville, Pennsylvania. She was 65.
A native of Broomall, Pennsylvania, Portland led the Mighty Macs to all three of their women's basketball national championships in 1972, 1973 and 1974. She was named a New York Press All-American following the Macs' title run in 1973 as a sophomore - standing as one of only six All-Americans in Immaculata women's basketball history – to go along with three Outstanding College Athlete of America awards.
After earning her degree from Immaculata in 1975, she stayed at the college for another year as an assistant to her coach, and 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Cathy Rush. Portland then made her way into the head coaching ranks and went on to coach 31 seasons at the Division I level amassing 693 wins, including 606 over the course of her 27-year tenure at Penn State. During her time at the helm of the Lady Lions, Portland was twice named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Coach of the Year (1991, 2004) and four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (1994, 2000, 2003, 2004). Portland led the Lady Lions to 21 NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the 2000 Final Four in Philadelphia.
Portland was a 2001 inductee into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame before her induction into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in November of 2017.
Rene Muth Portland '75 addresses the audience at her induction into thePhiladelphia Sports Hall of Fame in November 2017.
Portland's reflections on her Immaculata experience at the 25th Anniversary of the 1972 Championship Reunion in 1997:
"Being on the Mighty Macs championship teams was definitely a highlight of my life. As I continue in basketball, no conversation about it is ever short; it's one memory after another ... [From] the first big bucket in the national championship game at Illinois State to coming home to the crowds in the Philadelphia airport."
"Being a member of this family meant the world to me. We were always there for each other [and] our fans were one family too. We always had a sense of responsibility to them and all the hours they spent following us."
