Alana Loya
The passage of Title IX, in 1972, created opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics. Four years later, the University of San Francisco brought a women’s basketball program to the Hilltop, paving the way for the arrival of Mary Hile-Nepfel, the woman who would eventually become the most prolific scorer in USF basketball history, men’s or women’s.
Hile lettered all four years in basketball at Peterson High School in Sunnyvale, California, earning the title of MVP three years in a row. Despite her ability and inclination towards playing basketball in college, Hile felt uncertain until late in her high school career.
“I didn’t know if it would even be a possibility, you know. But what helped, I think, was the passing of Title IX,” Hile said. “By the time I was a senior, colleges had just started offering scholarships. So I started thinking, well, maybe I could earn a scholarship.”
Hile originally set her sights on UCLA, but after learning she wouldn’t be earning a scholarship with the team, she began looking at local schools like Stanford, Santa Clara and USF. During Hile’s official visit to USF, head coach Walt Bugler explained his vision for her and this program, only in its second year of existence.
“Walt […] just kind of laid it out and said, you know, ‘I want to build this team around you […] I think you can make a real difference in this program and how far we can go,’” Hile said.
After confirming her full scholarship and meeting with coaches, players and administrators, Hile committed to USF. Going into her senior season, she averaged 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 4.1 steals per game. She brought the Dons to the national tournament hosted by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. She was a two-time finalist for the Wade trophy, awarded to the best women’s college basketball player in the country. The most recent Wade trophy winners are University of Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers and the University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
On January 29, 1981 against UC Santa Barbara, Hile scored her 2,117th point. With this basket she passed Bill Cartwright’s scoring record and became USF basketball’s all-time leading scorer. She finished her career with 2,326 points and 1,602 rebounds, four boards shy of Bill Russell’s rebounding record.
“I love the way it happened because it was off a rebound, and I loved rebounding. I probably even enjoyed that more than the scoring,” Hile said.
Hile’s jersey was retired by the University and she was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985, the first woman to receive either of those honors.
“In the moment, I don’t think I realized maybe the impact of it. I appreciated it, you know, to get the recognition. But I think as I look back on it, I think it was another milestone for women’s sports here that women are being recognized and honored.”
In 1987, Hile returned to USF as co-head coach with her husband, Bill Nepfel. Over the course of their tenure, the couple boasted a 196-167 record. Most prominently, they coached the Dons to three straight West Coast Conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths from 1995-1997.
In the 1996 NCAA Tournament, the twelfth-seeded Dons upset number five Florida and number four Duke to become the first WCC team and the first ever twelve-seed to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
From 2000 to 2006 Hile coached the Dons solo. She stepped away from coaching for a few years before accepting the position of girls’ head basketball coach at San Francisco University High School, where she coached for eleven seasons until retiring in Spring 2024.
About a year ago, Hile started a program at USF, connecting with women’s athletic programs through Ignatian spirituality. Hile regularly attends athletic events, hoping to support these young women along their journeys at USF. Looking to the future, Hile hopes to see the women’s basketball alumni come together more to connect with current athletes.
“There’s still this struggle to be better, to do better, to have more opportunities and equal opportunities…I think we’re closer than we’ve ever been, but I don’t think we can rest on our laurels…We want to grow the sport. We want to get better.”
Alana Loya conducted this research and created an exhibition of Mary Hile-Nepfel and the history of USF women’s basketball for an archival internship presentation. She will be speaking about her experience with the USF archives on Wednesday, May 14, at 12 p.m. in the lower level of Gleeson Library.
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