Montclair State University is home to a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer. Sports Illustrated once called her “the most relentlessly exciting performer in the history of women’s basketball.” She’s considered to be a pioneer who broke scoring records and shattered glass ceilings.
But if you ask any student at Montclair State who Carol Blazejowski is, you’ll likely receive a blank stare.
It’s not their fault for not knowing her story. It’s hard to find anywhere on campus where she is mentioned.
Blazejowski’s story deserves to be remembered by the university community in a meaningful way, as her athletic prowess and life story, which often intersected with the politics of the day, can inspire present and future generations of Red Hawks, regardless of their interest in sports.
‘The Blaze,’ as she’s commonly known in basketball circles, grew up playing ball in the streets of Cranford, New Jersey. In a time when Title IX was brand-new and not fully implemented across the country, she had to fight for her high school to field a girl’s basketball team. The school’s athletic director finally relented her senior year, after Blazejowski threatened to try out for the boy’s team.
Blazejowski then found her way to Montclair State College in 1974, where she brought the unknown New Jersey program to national prominence.
She became the school’s all-time scoring leader, finishing her career with a mind-blowing 3,199 points. The feat is made more impressive considering that college basketball did not fully implement the three-point line until 1986.
Averaging 31.7 points per game, The Blaze was the first woman to enter the 3,000 points club in college basketball and was the third player ever to hit the mark. She still leads the Red Hawks in nearly every scoring category and is at or near the top in every other measurable statistic.
A photo of Blazejowski making a layup against Saint Joseph's College in the March 16, 1978 edition of The Montclarion.
Photo: Montclarion Archives
In 1976, The Blaze dazzled a packed Madison Square Garden in a nationally televised game against Queens College. She set the Garden’s single-game college scoring record for both sexes, using her signature jump shot to propel her to a 52 point master class.
It was the highlight of the famed basketball venue’s first ever women’s basketball doubleheader.
There’s one piece of the Blaze’s legacy that is hidden in plain sight.
That would be the 1978 AIAW Final Four banner that hangs over the stands in Panzer Athletic Center. The Blaze took Montclair State, which was the only team in the national tournament that did not offer athletic scholarships, to a semifinal appearance in the country’s biggest women’s basketball tournament (the NCAA did not sponsor a women’s basketball tournament until 1982).
Montclair State ultimately fell to UCLA, however, Blaze’s legend continued to grow.
After the season, the three-time Kodak All-American was the first ever recipient of the Wade Trophy, the most prestigious award in women’s college basketball. All of the greats in basketball such as Dianna Taurasi, Sue Bird and Maya Moore have been named the nation’s best college player, but The Blaze was the first.
A newspaper clip on Carol Blazejowski winning the first-ever Wade Trophy, which honors the best player in women's college basketball. This clip is from the April 6, 1978 edition of The Montclarion.
Photo: Montclarion Archives
After college, Blazejowski represented her country on the national stage, competing for Team USA. Her dominance continued in international play, leading the United States in scoring at the World University Games in 1977 and averaged 10.2 points per game in the 1979 Pan American Games.
The Blaze was set to lead the Americans again at the 1980 Summer Olympics, however Cold War politics interfered, as the United States boycotted the games which were held in Moscow, Russia. The move was in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. The boycott tragically ended her hopes of winning a gold medal.
Following a brief stint as a pro, where she became the highest paid player in the short-lived Women’s Professional Basketball League, Blazejowski moved into the executive sphere.
She spent time in the NBA before transitioning to the WNBA’s New York Liberty. During her time as president and general manager, she led the team to 10 playoff appearances, and three WNBA Eastern Conference Championships.
Although her legacy at Montclair State and on a national stage is profound, there are no places across campus that honor her, save a plaque in the secluded Montclair State Athletics Hall of Fame Room.
The Blaze’s number 12 jersey has been retired by the program since her graduation, however the jersey does not hang from the walls of the Panzer Athletic Center, making it hard for current students and fans to even notice.
A photo of Carol Blazejowski making a layup against Immaculata College from the February 10, 1978 edition of The Montclarion.
Photo: Montclarion Archives
It’s concerning that there are a large number of buildings at Montclair State that are named after people who have zero connection to the University (Sinatra Hall, Basilone Hall, etc.). Why can’t there be a prominent, public place on campus that can recognize Blazejowski’s greatness?
The University is not uninterested in honoring past athletes either.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Sam Mills is honored with multiple buildings named after him (Mills Hall, Sam’s Place). The football team has fully embraced his ‘Keep Pounding’ mantra, which Mills used to motivate the NFL’s Carolina Panthers to the playoffs after receiving a grim cancer diagnosis.
In 2022, a plaque honoring his life and contributions to Montclair State was placed at Sprague Field, a fitting and permanent memorial to a legendary man.
The best way to recognize the efforts of Montclair State’s all-time greatest basketball player would be to name the court at Panzer Athletic Center after The Blaze.
In college hoops, having the court named for a coach or athlete is one of the highest honors an athletic department can bestow.
From Duke University’s ‘Coach K Court,’ to Rutgers University’s ‘C. Vivian Stringer Court,’ the names of pivotal figures in college athletics are prominently displayed on the floors of the gyms and arenas they made famous.
‘The Carol Blazejowski Court at Panzer Athletic Center’ would be a fitting tribute to a person who is more than deserving. Everyone who walks into the gym for the rest of time will have the chance to know her name and hopefully her story.
Her name being placed on the floor would make her legacy as a Red Hawk as set in stone as her scoring record, which will likely never be broken by any Montclair State basketball player.
As a society, it should be important to remember those who came before us. If Blazejowski and others like her did not fight for inclusion for women in sports, there may have never been a Sabrina Ionescu, Caitlin Clark, or even a WNBA.
The Blaze may be an unsung hero across the country, however, at her alma mater, her story needs to be honored. It’s time for Montclair State to do the right thing.
