Valerie Combs and her daughter Giavanna.
University of Louisville Director of Development Valerie Combs channels a lifetime of success on and off the court into her important role at UofL and her even more important role as mom.
Written by Tabnie Dozier | Photographed by Kylene White
Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar.”
It’s a quote Michelle Obama famously said in a discussion with Howard University students in 2016, but those words also describe the journey of Valerie Combs.
Combs’ story begins in the mid-1970s after her father, a U.S. Air Force veteran, ended his three-year stint in Germany. She said her father wanted to return to Louisville following his retirement.
“We literally left Germany after living there three years and he retired and planted us back in Louisville. [I] had never lived here prior to that— just visited. I lived in Spain, Germany and Kansas. We were always on the move every three to four years,” Combs recalls.
Being a ninth-grade student, a new normal was something Combs had to get used to. “I don’t want to say it was a cultural shock, but I guess it was a cultural shock, because I went from being at this sheltered, military upbringing where you know your neighbors-– you knock on the door [and] borrow sugar, you could leave your doors unlocked; it’s kind of a community in itself,” she explains. “I don’t want to say it’s cult-like; military keeps you sheltered.”
Combs said even though she was around a multifaceted community-– all nationalities– she said moving to the West End was a culture shock because she saw so many people who looked like her.
When she arrived at Butler High School in 1973, little did she know her path to success would take an interesting turn.
Valerie Combs played for Butler High School before heading off to UofL. Kentucky High School Basketball Hall Of Fame Photo.
From an unknown to a queen on the court
Being tall and athletic has its perks. Combs was both. She happened to be in gym class when her teacher told her, “You should be playing basketball.”
In order to convince Combs that she had talent, her teacher invited her down to watch the junior varsity team play. As she sat in the bleachers watching the action, her teacher pulled her from the stands to play in the game. In that moment, things were about to change. “She felt I did something right that game; I played varsity after that and never looked back,” Combs recalls.
It wasn’t until 1975 that girls basketball in Kentucky received the same treatment as the boys. The state hosted a high school basketball tournament for the girls as Combs entered her junior year.
“We made it to the state tournament, we weren’t predicted to win but we won,” she says. “We came back, and we were instant celebrities in ‘Lively Shively’. We got to ride down Dixie Highway in a parade– all of that.”
Combs would go on to have a remarkable showing by having 24 rebounds in a single game and 73 overall during the tournament. Her game was so good, she made the all-tournament team selection and all-state performer in both 1975 and 1976. By Combs’ senior year, she said schools began ranking players. After Butler won that state tournament, Combs was ranked the number two girls player in Kentucky. As her career blossomed, the eyes of various universities began watching, including the University of Louisville.
“They would start sending me offers to come. They would cut out articles out of the newspaper and they would Xerox that article on UofL letterhead– recruiting me, enticing me to come,” she recalls.
Schools during that era also started to have signings or have national letters of intent for girls basketball players to get them to commit to a school early.
“UofL was heavy on me. Every day I come home, I’d have a letter in the mail, an article saying come to the University of Louisville. My coach, they were also recruiting a friend that I had made at the state tournament whose team was supposed to win,” she says. “They didn’t win, so there was upheaval because they didn’t win, and everybody predicted them to.”
Combs said she committed to UofL early hoping her friend, whom she met in the tournament and who was the state’s number one player, would do the same. However, things wouldn’t go the way she hoped. “They would have had a powerful team had we both attended the university,” she says.
She made her mark while at the university. Combs would become one of the first women to receive a full scholarship and the first 1,000-point scorer in the school’s history.
What was next? Combs had crowning achievements on the court and there was no way to go but up. Opportunities for women’s basketball professionally were slim to none. She didn’t allow that to stop her from seeking success.
From baller to businesswoman
Even before Combs graced the basketball court, she admits her college career almost didn’t happen.
“In my mind, I wanted to travel and see the world because of my dad, and I felt the way to do that was through the military or be a flight attendant,” she explains. “Hindsight, I went on and took the scholarship – glad I did. My path was already set.”
Combs had unique opportunities including an internship with Easterseals where she coached wheelchair divisions of basketball and track and field. Following eight years of service with the organization dedicated to empowering people with disabilities, Combs saw an opportunity swing in her direction.
“You know how they say, being in the right place at the right time? I was in the gym – I became a gym rat, loved working out because I thought what am I going to do with myself now? I didn’t have basketball, there was no pro – what am I going to do with myself?” she says.
Looking back, Combs recalls the chance moment she was able to interview with the former Trans World Airlines (TWA). “I was like, oh my god, I gotta go to this interview,” she says. “I took a day off from work and I went to interview at the hotel.” Combs, who had been married for just a year, had to tell her husband, Gregory, about her dreams and the unique opportunity. After a couple of interviews, the airline wanted her to attend flight attendant school. “He was like, ‘Now wait a minute here– what do you mean?’ He really didn’t know what it all entailed. They [the airline] told you not to quit your day job, because you didn’t know if you had the job. So you really had to leave – go through this training and come home and hope they were going to hire you.”
Combs said the airline contacted her about a job and, in that moment, knew she was headed for the friendly skies. “I became a flight attendant, and I was a flight attendant for almost 30 years,” she says. “I lived in Louisville the whole time. I commuted, flew on weekends most of the time because I had a daughter later. I would fly on Friday and Saturday and be at home on Sunday or Saturday, Sunday – home Monday.”
The flexibility and being able to spend time with her daughter through the week without missing a beat had its advantages. Combs recalls the times where Gregory and daughter Giavanna would meet up with her while on work trips they all would experience seeing the world together. That lasted until the acquisition of TWA by American Airlines and Combs found herself being laid off, but it wouldn’t be for long. “I get a call from UofL and [they] offered me a job. I’m like ‘I didn’t apply for any job.’ But they said, ‘Well, we have this job, and we think you would be great for it,” Combs recalls.
The job would take her back to familiar territory – athletics. She felt that since the university had given her an opportunity, and to her, it was a feeling of giving back. Eight years later, after settling in a job and everyone having a familiar face around campus, American Airlines contacted her. “I get a letter in the mail, and it says – American says ‘Come back or don’t come back.’ I had so many years on the table that Tom Jurich said, ‘Go get your retirement and come back,’” Combs says. “I said, ‘Really?’ I said if I put in two years, I could get my passes for the rest of my life, which I didn’t want to walk away without.”
After putting in the years, Combs was able to get her passes, retirement and return to UofL. She hoped she would return to her position right away but another curve in the road appeared in Combs’ path. Instead of waiting for an opportunity to become available, Combs kept busy by getting involved with Colgate’s “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures”, a program designed to help children with dental hygiene. She now owns a medical companion program where they transport patients to doctors’ appointments, stay with them through their procedure(s) and make sure they return home safely.
The long road eventually led her back to her roots. UofL wanted Combs to get involved with diversity efforts at the university. “Though I’m on the diversity side, most people see me in athletics,” she said. Combs now serves as the director of development for diversity initiatives/engagement where she leads philanthropic support for diversity initiatives on UofL’s campus.
She explains the university didn’t put her in a box because of the connections formed throughout Louisville. The position was created as other diversity, equity and initiative programs were being created at companies and universities following much of the social justice unrest. It was the first time the university had a diversity officer raising money for minority groups. “They didn’t have anybody raising money specifically for those units. Whatever they got for their programs, they raised themselves,” Combs says. “So now they had me going out to the community as an advocate saying you need to support this, this and this – and all these companies now have diversity initiatives.” Being a go-getter, Combs said the job is all about listening to where the donors want to put their money, but also helping them steer it into the right area they are passionate about.
Mom life and advice to next generation
Despite having “all-star athlete” and many credentials on her resume, being a mom is one Combs’ proudest titles. She said she experienced three miscarriages and was on her last egg when Giavanna was born. “It’s a miracle that I got her here. She’s my pride and joy. [Giavanna] grew up as my little sidekick, going everywhere with me – so everybody knows her because she was always with me,” Combs says. Giavanna also went to UofL but didn’t follow in the same footsteps as her mother: “She’s working on her master’s now – she’s a beauty queen and I say this is her sport.”
Combs said Giavanna would become tired of questions about whether she would play ball like her mother or tennis like her dad. So she reminded her daughter that you can’t help who you are and who your parents are– sometimes you just must embrace it and then tell them what you like and dislike.
Combs also got to watch her daughter participate in the Miss Kentucky USA pageant where she represented “Miss Old Louisville.” Even though she didn’t have success, she would later become Miss Kentucky Cosmos United States 2023. Through it all, Combs said she also learns from her daughter and the experiences their generation are currently going through. “Listening to my daughter a lot – mind, body and spirit it’s so important,” she says. “These kids in this generation today, there’s a lot of mental health issues going on so you’ve got to listen to your heart, body and mind. There’s a lot of bullying – you’ve got to learn to shut out all of the bad stuff… If you get to them early – elementary and middle school – if you bring them out to campus, give them the experience of what it’s like to have to see other nationalities, work with each other, be teammates or whatever – they’re losing that socialness, we’ve got to get back to that.”
I’m just Valerie
Despite the lessons, experiences and those she’s met along the way, Combs maintains she’s just Valerie. “I never felt like I was this celebrity– I’m just like anyone else. I didn’t aspire to be a celebrity or superstar, that’s not what I set out to be. I’m just being me,” she says. Combs said she’s looking forward to her next chapter and celebrating 65 years in August. “I’m turning that clock back. I’m in the gym every day. I work out at 6:30 and I’m in cycling class – I’m trying to keep that clock turned back, because I don’t feel like I’m gonna be 65, I still feel like I’m in my Forties,” she says. “I want to stay young, stay vibrant, relevant [and] help my daughter. I want to be a grandmother one day I hope.”
She does know she will hold the title as “momager” as Giavanna continues to nationals in the Miss Cosmos United States pageant.
“Now, I carry her luggage and now I’m known as Gia’s mom. She loves it and I love it too,” she laughs. “It’s kind of like I have to follow her footsteps, her wishes and her dreams. I’m there for her.”
Combs was acknowledged for her achievements during Black History Month during a UofL women’s basketball game in February. Her legacy continues to shine brightly. She was inducted into the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
