Women's Basketball | 11/5/2015 2:14:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----At the end of the 2000 women's basketball season, Elizabeth Rogers Biggerstaff ('02, '06) was looking to find a better balance between basketball and the life of a college student. Rogers chose to continue her playing career at Wingate and would take on the challenge of balancing life as a women's soccer and basketball student-athlete.
 
In 2001-02, Rogers averaged 14.2 points per game and scored a season-best 24 points in two games while earning second team All-South Atlantic Conference honors. On the soccer pitch, the Ravenscroft Sports Hall of Fame member earned All-SAC and All-Region honors as a goalkeeper during a distinguished Bulldog career.
 
Wingate University graduate Steven Grandy ('12) caught up with Biggerstaff to get the latest on her life. A transcript of the interview follows...
 
What are you doing now?
 
Currently, I am the Associate Athletic Director for Compliance at Wingate University.
 
What led you to transfer to Wingate and did you ever envision staying here in your current role at any point as a student?
 
I played basketball at Wake Forest my freshman and sophomore years (1998-2000). Wake was a great school, but the basketball experience at Wake just wasn't what I wanted. Basketball consumed my life and admittedly I allowed it to do so. I wasn't getting any playing time. We weren't winning. Other than the great friends I made at Wake, I wasn't getting anything out of my experience there. I reached a point where the negatives of the experience outweighed the positives and to me it was not worth the struggle.
 
One of my Wake Forest teammates, Elizabeth Biedrycki (now Elizabeth Johannes), ended up transferring to Wingate during the second semester of our sophomore year. As good friends, we talked frequently after she left Wake. When I finally made the decision to begin exploring my transfer options, Elizabeth told Coach Johnny Jacumin about me. From there, the recruiting process began.
 
During my time at Wake, I started to miss playing soccer, a sport I quit playing after my sophomore year in high school. During the recruiting process with Coach Jacumin, I mentioned that I'd like to start playing soccer again. That's when Coach Dubay, the then-head women's soccer coach, came into the picture. Basketball was my ticket to Wingate, but I am forever grateful that Coach Jacumin allowed soccer to be part of my experience.
 
In college, I knew I wanted to make a career in athletic administration. I felt at home at Wingate and I knew there were good people here. Did I realize that 15 years after coming to Wingate as a student-athlete I would still be here, working as a staff member? Probably not; but I was certainly never opposed to that idea. When you are lucky enough to be part of a program that supports and cares about its student-athletes, it is not something you want to give up.
 
What was your most memorable athletic experience at Wingate?  What was your most memorable non-athletic experience at Wingate?
 
There are certainly moments from my time at Wingate that stand out more than others, both athletically and non-athletically. Soccer pre-seasons always stands out. Were they tough? Sure, they were tough, but there was something about arriving early to campus with your teammates and being able to focus only on your sport…the comradery that environment fostered was unrivaled.
 
Basketball for me was more about the game itself. I loved being on the court and just competing. I loved a good crowd and the energy and motivation they provided for me during games. I'll never forget playing Presbyterian College, our then rivals, in Cuddy Arena. The fans were great! It was loud. It was hot and it was a close game. I still remember Ginny Boggess hitting that last- second shot to win the game. I can actually envision her holding her follow through after the ball had gone through the net and our team rushing the court to engulf her in celebration. Competing on the basketball court was what I remember most.
 
Outside of athletics I would have to say that my W'International trip to Ireland was one of the high points of my time at Wingate. Traveling overseas was something I had not had a chance to do up to that point. Prior to coming to Wingate, I had sort of resigned myself to the fact that traveling abroad as part of my educational experience was something that I wouldn't be able to do as a student-athlete. The opportunity to do so was actually one of the reasons I chose Wingate; that and the fact that at the time there was no track at Wingate to run a timed mile on like we had to do at Wake.
 
Overall though I am not sure that I have one single great memory at Wingate. Great memories are scattered throughout my time at Wingate. Developing relationships with professors, teammates and coaches and the variety of avenues which fostered those relationships created the Wingate experience for me, an experience which felt like home and continues to feel like home. Not one of my experiences was bigger than Wingate and that is what draws me to this place and has kept me here.
 
Who was your favorite professor at Wingate (and why)?
 
There are professors that stand out during my time at Wingate as an undergraduate. Dr. Ginn, Dr. Randall, Dr. Wilder and Dr. Culley were all such good professors. They were experts in their field which is what I am sure administration hopes for when they hire a professor. But more importantly, they genuinely cared about my experience at Wingate. To this day, the relationships that I was able to form with my professors and the interest they took in me is a highlight of my Wingate experience that I always share with peope.
 
One word you would use to describe your personality?
 
Driven
 
What would you most like people to know about you? 
 
I find moms to be amazing. I am a mom that works outside the home. Just like every mom, whether they work outside the home or at home with their children, I struggle to maintain a balance with which I am satisfied. The competitiveness that helped me excel in the athletic arena can sometimes make it more difficult to find that balance. I have to remind myself frequently that it's not a matter of having it all. It's a matter of being happy with what you have. If you aren't happy with that…having the courage and the will to make the change.
 
If you could be fictional character from any movie, television show, book, etc., for a day who would it be and why?
 
Claire Underwood from House of Cards
 
What was the first pair of shoes you wore when you first started playing your sport? 
 
No clue, but I know I had a pair of Reebok Pumps at some point.
 
Why would you recommend Wingate University to others?
 
(I am going to speak on this from a student-athlete perspective.) For me, Wingate redeemed my faith in what college athletics is supposed to represent. Is playing sports in college supposed to be challenging? Yes. Will there be times when you want to quit? Yes. Overall though, playing sports in college is supposed to be fun. Wingate offered that to me and provided me with a great memory.
 
Describe your experience at Wingate in one word?
 
Family
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS HALL OF FAME
 
Five new members will be added to the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies on Friday evening, Nov. 13. In addition, the University will recognize the 1967-68 men's hoops team as a Team of Distinction during the event. The WU Sports Hall of Fame ceremonies are sponsored by OrthoCarolina.
 
The Wingate Sports Hall of Fame class of 2015 includes baseball pitcher Bruce Benfield (Charlotte, N.C., class of '76), two-sport star Liz Rogers Biggerstaff (Raleigh, N.C., class of '02, class of '06), football defensive end John Bowman (Rockingham, N.C., class of '05), basketball point guard Lorinza "Junior" Harrington (Wagram, N.C., class of '02) and baseball infielder David Yount (Forest City, N.C., class of '04).
 
The Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will begin on Friday evening, Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the LaVerne Banquet Hall. Tickets for the induction ceremonies banquet are $20 per person and $12 for children 12 and under. For more information about the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame, contact committee chairman Bill Nash at 704-233-8121 or via E-mail at bilnash@wingate.edu.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past nine years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 77 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 77 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 86 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.