Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Women’s Basketball Alum Cary McGehee to be Honored Wednesday at The Ziggys
April 21, 2026 | General, Women's Basketball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - During The Ziggys, Bowling Green State University athletics' end-of-year award show, Falcon women's basketball alum Cary McGehee will be honored as the distinguished alum of the event.
The 1980 to 1984 women's basketball alum started her time in the Orange and Brown as a walk-on and worked her way into a scholarship player.
"I love Bowling Green. I had a great time in college there," McGehee said. "My experiences playing basketball was probably the most memorable experience in Bowling Green."
In her last season for the Orange and Brown, McGehee received the BGSU Most Valuable Player and the Best Defensive Player awards on the team. She was also selected to the All-MAC Second Team and eclipsed 1,000 points throughout her collegiate career.
While at Bowling Green, McGehee said she acquired a strong work ethic and the ability to work as part of a team. She also highlighted how her experiences as an athlete for the Falcons translated into her professional career on and off the court.
After winning the first and only championship of the Women's American Basketball Association (WABA) in the 1984-1985 season for the Dallas Diamonds, McGehee decided it was time to hang up the jersey officially.
McGehee was encouraged by her father to go to law school and become a lawyer, like himself, which sparked her current work environment as a managing and founding partner of Pitt McGehee.
"I didn't feel like I was getting much out of the work I was doing, so I decided to go to law school," McGehee said. "I went to work for a firm for about three years, and then one of the senior partners at the firm decided he wanted to leave."
That man was Michael Pitt, McGehee's mentor, who would ask her to join him at his own firm. Pitt McGehee was established in 1992 and has flourished since, currently having 11 attorneys and being one of the premier civil rights firms in the state of Michigan.
Being a woman who had joined the legal profession, which was mostly dominated by men back in the 1980s, McGehee was able to take what she learned on the basketball court at Bowling Green and use it to help in her position at Pitt McGehee.
"It is an entrée to a great conversation," McGehee said. "When an attorney learned that I had played collegiate and professional women's basketball, it sparked the conversation. They were interested in it, and that helped in terms of developing networking and developing relationships."
During her time at the firm, McGehee has been a part of many successful settlements, including the Flint Water Class Action case. She was selected as a Top 20 Women Attorneys in Michigan and was given the "Leader in the Law" award in 2013.
Outside of time at her firm, McGehee chaired the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) for over 15 years. This is a non-profit that advocates and educates people about human rights.
She led two Freedom Tours in which MCHR took a bus full of high school students to the Deep South for a two-week journey to learn about the history of the civil rights movement and meet icons who led it.
When finding out she was being honored at the Ziggys, McGehee was grateful to be recognized by her alma mater.
"There's a lot of great alumni that come out of Bowling Green, so to be among one of them is quite an honor," McGehee said.
McGehee plans to give the current athletes of Bowling Green State University advice that all of them can use when their time in their respective jerseys is up.
"My focus is going to be on the importance of having a happy life," McGehee said. "The way that happens is if you follow your passion. Choose a profession that you think is interesting and that you're passionate about. You've been successful as an athlete because of your passion; you'll no doubt be successful in the career that you choose if it's something you're passionate about."
The Ziggys will return for the 12th consecutive year, being held on Wednesday, April 22. To find all the coverage for the event, go to theziggys.com to find all pre-event, live, and post-event content from the Falcon Media Sports Network.
