WBCA Staff - Betty Jaynes

Consultant
Ext.: 101
Betty_Jaynes@wbca.org





For over 35 years, Betty F. Jaynes has been a leading figure in the sport of women's basketball. Jaynes, who was named the WBCA's first Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 1996, after serving 15 years as Executive Director, has cultivated and developed the growth and prosperity of the WBCA since its founding in 1981. Under the direction of Jaynes, the WBCA blossomed from its 212-member infancy into a 4,000-member-plus national organization and a leading resource, voice and advocate for women's and girls' basketball at every level.

Currently the WBCA Consultant, Jaynes now functions with the CEO, Beth Bass, in handling advisory assignments including finances, programming, advocacy and special projects.

Prior to her involvement with the WBCA, Jaynes served as head women's basketball coach at Madison College (renamed James Madison University in 1977) from 1970 to 1982. During Jaynes' coaching tenure at the Harrisonburg, Va., campus, the Dukes amassed a notable 142-114 record, highlighted by the 1975 Virginia AIAW (Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women) state championship. Jaynes' teams also posted runner-up finishes in the 1973, 1977 and 1979 state tournaments. Her 1978-79 squad posted the initial 20-win season in school history at 20-7, while her 1974 and 1975 clubs advanced to the AIAW Region 2 playoffs.

In addition to her on-the-court responsibilities, Jaynes chaired the U.S. Girls' and Women's Basketball Rules Committee from 1979 to 1981. She also acted as tournament director for the 1975 AIAW Large College National Basketball Championships, which boasted the first-ever championship game sell-out in the modern era of women's college basketball. The Harrisonburg AIAW event also featured the first-ever selection and presentation of the Kodak Women's All-America Basketball Team, which stands today as the most prestigious and storied All-America award in women's basketball. From that point on, Jaynes nurtured the development of the All-America program by serving as its committee chair from 1976 through 1982 and by bringing Kodak and its All-America Team aboard as on the first offficial sponsors and awards program components of the WBCA in the 1982-83 season.

Jaynes first joined the staff at Madison in 1968 as an assistant professor of physical education with primary teaching duties in gymnastics, tennis and swimming. Previously, she earned her Master of Science degree in physical education from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 1968 and her Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from Georgia College in 1967.

A native of Covington, Ga., Jaynes attended Newton County High School where she lettered in basketball for four years. She was honored as an All-State selection in her junior and was again named All-State her senior year as her team compiled a 33-1 record and earned a berth into the 1963 Class AA State Championship Game in Atlanta.

Betty F. Jaynes is presently a member of the following committees and has earned the following honors during her years with the WBCA:

• Outstanding Contribution to Girls Sports in Atlanta sponsored by Georgia Tech 2006
• RUSSELL ATHLETIC Distinguished Women of Atlanta 2006
• NACDA Hall of Fame 2006
• Special Recognition "Model Citizen" from Governor Sonny Purdue 2005
• First recipient of the 2000 Pioneer Award presented by the Georgia Women's Intersport Network
• Chairperson of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Foundation 2003-2006
• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2000 Inductee
• Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors 1999-Present
• Atlanta Tip-Off Club Board of Directors, Vice President 1992-1999
• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Trustee 1990-2006
• Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Executive Committee and Women's Screening Committee Chair 1990-2006
• USA Basketball Board of Directors and Chair of By-Laws Committee 1986-2000
• Center of the Study of Sport in Society National Advisory Committee
• Georgia Women's Intersport Network (Ga-WIN) Founder and Past President and Treasurer 1996-2006
• Women's Sports Foundation Trustee (current), Vice President (1990-1996)
• Women's Sports Foundation Trustee Co-Chair of Coaches Council
• Women's Sports Foundation's President's Award, awarded to the WBCA in 1991 and in 1997 to Betty Jaynes
• NACDA Honors Award 1995
• National Association for Girls and Women in Sport Honors Award 1991
• Communiplex Women's Sports Hall of Fame 1995
• Georgia College Distinguished Alumnus in 1996
• State of Georgia Outstanding Citizen Award for Excellence in 1996
• Managed the Basketball Volunteers for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta
• Featured as Top Atlanta Sports Champion in March 1999 issue of Atlanta Business to Business Magazine
• Received the 2006 John Bunn Lifetime Achievement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2007
• Inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008
• Received the Georgia College and State University Alumni Heritage Award in 2009