KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Violet Palmer, one of the biggest names to ever come out of Cal Poly Pomona Athletics, has been inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, it was announced in late November. The 2024 induction ceremony will mark the 25th Class of inductees to be honored by the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
A true pioneer in today's sports world, Violet Palmer was the starting point guard for Hall of Fame head coach Darlene May for two of the five NCAA Division II National Championships won by the CPP women's basketball program in 1984-85 and 1985-86.
 
Palmer continued to make a name for herself beyond graduation from CPP, becoming the first woman to officiate in the NBA and/or in any major professional sport in the United States in 1997 after spending time in the collegiate ranks, working five NCAA Women's Final Four games and two NCAA Women's National Championship games.  She also officiated in the inaugural season of the WNBA (1997) and worked the WNBA finals that year. 
 
In 1999, Palmer won the Naismith Award for Official of the Year, the highest award an official can receive in collegiate basketball.  In 2006, she became first woman to officiate a NBA postseason game between Indiana and New Jersey, going on to officiate nine NBA postseason games in six different seasons.  She also officiated the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. Now retired from the profession, Palmer has coordinated women's basketball officials for the Pac-12, West Coast, Big Sky, Western Athletic, and the Big West since 2009.
 
In 2020, Palmer became the eighth women's basketball member to be inducted into the Cal Poly Pomona Athletics Hall of Fame, and just the third women's basketball Bronco to be inducted into the California Collegiate Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2023. In August earlier this year, Palmer received the Gold Whistle Award, presented by the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO). It is regarded as the highest honor in basketball officiating. Palmer served on the NASO board of directors from 2005-08.
 
Palmer now joins Darlene May as the second Bronco to ever be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.