Induction introduction presented by Carla Berube, former Tufts women's basketball head coach and current Princeton women's basketball head coach

"As the former head coach of the Jumbos, let me start by saying how grateful I am that our next honoree chose Tufts!

Hailing from Needham, Massachusetts, Colleen Hart joined the Jumbos in the fall of 2007. At that time, our program had started to see some success. But when a high-profile recruit like Colleen—who had garnered interest from Division I programs—committed to Tufts, it signaled a real shift. Her arrival marked the beginning of our rise onto the national stage, and I was so fortunate to coach her for four years, and later, have her beside me on the bench as an assistant coach.

Colleen made an immediate impact as a first-year during the 2007–08 season. She was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year and D3hoops.com Northeast Region Rookie of the Year -- but she certainly never played like a rookie. Her confidence, court vision, selfless play, and deadly accuracy from beyond the arc quickly earned the trust of her coaches and teammates. At just 5'4", she wasn’t the biggest player on the court—but she was a complete player, and she was a competitor you could count on her every single play in every single game.
 
That first year, Colleen and teammate Khalilah Ummah led the Jumbos to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and an exciting run to the Elite Eight. The team finished 26–4, setting a school record for wins at the time—and Colleen was the engine that helped drive it all. She averaged 11.4 points and 3.4 assists per game, made 56 three-pointers, and hit 87 percent of her free throws. We needed her presence on the court that year, and by averaging 34.5 minutes per game, she played nearly every minute of the season!

The success continued from there. In Colleen’s sophomore and junior years, Tufts returned to the NCAA Tournament. Colleen earned 1st Team All-NESCAC honors both seasons, and she was named a D3hoops All-American as a junior. She led the league in scoring that year with 17.3 points per game, and she shot a mind-blowing 47 percent from three-point range. You heard that right — forty-seven percent for the season!!

But with Colleen, it was about so much more than the stats and numbers. Colleen had a passion for the game that was contagious, and she just worked so hard. I can still picture her—first one in the gym, last one to leave, always getting shots up. She really set the tone for our team, not just with her play, but with her example. Her work ethic became part of the culture of the program, and it inspired the players who followed her. Since Colleen arrived in 2007, Tufts Women’s Basketball has missed the NCAA Tournament just twice.

Unfortunately, Colleen’s senior season was interrupted by injury—an absence that was felt deeply by the team. Before she was sidelined, Colleen had become Tufts' all-time leading scorer, and even today, she remains third all-time with 1,422 points. She shot an astounding 41 percent from beyond the 3-point arc over her career, and she’s still the program’s all-time leader in three-pointers with 231 - 44 more than anyone else. She also ranks third all-time in assists and was an 80 percent free-throw shooter. In short: Colleen could shoot. She could pass. She could defend. And she could lead. And she did all of that at an exceptionally high level.

After graduation, Colleen took her talents overseas, playing professionally in Switzerland’s top league. Later, she returned to Tufts as an assistant coach, helping guide the team to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015. Her knowledge of the game, her perspective as a former Jumbo student-athlete, and her calm presence on the sidelines were invaluable.

During her senior year at Tufts, Colleen said: "I’ve been fortunate to play for an assortment of great coaches along the way, but I must say my dad, James, along with my older brothers, Jimmy and Patrick, sparked my interest in the game at a very young age. My brothers were sure to tell me everything I did wrong in a game—regardless of how well or poorly I played—and I think that encouraged me to keep practicing."

So tonight, we thank the Hart family for giving Tufts a leader, a fierce competitor, and one of the finest players our university has seen. And we thank Colleen—for being an outstanding Jumbo and for helping to set a new standard of excellence for Tufts Women’s Basketball.

Please join me in welcoming Colleen Hart into the Tufts Athletics Hall of Fame."