Sister Susan Doubet, long-time educator, principal, and basketball coach at Villa Maria Academy in Erie was recently inducted into the 2023 class of the Cathedral Prep Athletic Hall of Fame. The Catholic Diocese of Erie closed Villa in 2022 after 130 years of operation, and the all-girls school merged with the all-boys Cathedral Prep for the 2022-23 school year. This year’s induction marked the first inclusion of Villa Maria graduates in the Hall of Fame.

Sister Susan is a 1965 graduate of Villa and helped move the school’s basketball team into its formal status as an annual state contender. The Villa Victors’ appearance in the 1982 PIAA Class 3A state finals game was a highlight of Sister Susan’s 1968-90 coaching career. In 2022 she was featured in the Erie Times News as a female sports pioneer: “Women who have made a difference in area athletics.” This recognition was held for the 50th anniversary of the passing of Title IX, giving equal opportunities in athletics, regardless of gender.

“I truly loved my years with basketball, both as a player and as a coach. My only regret is the knowledge of the hundreds, thousands, of talented girls and young women who, before Title IX, never had the chance to pursue a high level of athletic achievement,” said Sister Susan. Kathy Lynch and Kayla McBride, two outstanding VMA basketball players, as well as long-time softball and tennis coach, the late Georgia DeMarco, were also honored.

Currently, Sister Susan is research assistant/archivist to Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, and is on the staff of Emmaus Ministries. She is pictured here holding her award with Sister Mary Ellen Plumb, Oblate Mary Hembrow Snyder, Sister Anne Wambach, and Sisters Charlotte Zalot and Judith Trambley.