Hello WBCA Member!

It has been a few months since my last report as your roving CEO of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). One of my favorite times of year has now arrived. No, it is not Thanksgiving or Christmas, but the start of the women’s basketball season! The anticipation for the season is what we all live for year round and I enjoy staying busy in all aspects of our game.

The resources we have here in Atlanta, Georgia, constantly amaze me, and sometimes we just do not connect the dots. I was fortunate to be invited to a breakfast provided by GoGirlGo! and sponsored by Merrill Lynch. Karen Korb, two-time member of the U.S. Paralympic tennis team in singles and doubles, spoke to the group. The GoGirlGo! program, a product of the Women’s Sports Foundation, seeks to bring young women closer to the things that are most important to them, including friends, having a positive outlook on themselves and getting the most out of sports and exercise. A group of young girls from the Agape Community Center were in attendance, which were all grant recipients of the GoGirlGo! program. I was glad to take part in this event and to see that GoGirlGo! was touching the lives of some outstanding young women.

Karen Korb, Beth Bass and girls from the Agape
Community Center share a Kodak moment.

Later that afternoon, I went to the NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners meeting here in Atlanta. This was the first time in five years that we as an organization have been included with the NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners meeting, currently consisting of nine partners. It is a testament to the strength of the women’s basketball brand between the NCAA, NABC and WBCA and shows how much respect they have for our contribution to building the brand of collegiate basketball. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to share mind space with the brightest sports marketers in the world, which is a true compliment to our game.

My partner in crime, Carol Stiff (ESPN), and I flew directly from the NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners meeting to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Discussion Group in Indianapolis, Indiana. We are still kicking around some big picture ideas, but one major initiative that we talked about was the possibility of moving the women’s NCAA championship a week later. The possibility of this move would allow the women’s NCAA championship game to stand on its own by giving it a timeframe late enough to stand alone but still clearly within the basketball-season window. Obviously, several other initiatives are in the works and more information on those is soon to come.

I spent Columbus Day in Sacramento, California, at the NACWAA Convention. I participated in round table discussions, with a major focus on the fight to keep male practice players. I truly felt like I was a single voice shouting into the ocean on this topic and with this audience. It is vital that we each use our voice and position, no matter how small or large, to fight for the issues that will ultimately affect the growth of women’s basketball.

From there, I headed to the Women’s Sport Foundation 27th Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner held in New York City, often coined as the Oscar of women’s sports. C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers) was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in the Coach category. It was fun hanging out with all of my cronies, but I was able to spend a few moments with an idol of mine, Billie Jean King (founder of the Women’s Sports Foundation). Whenever I hear her name mentioned, I always silently thank her for all that she has done for women’s sports.

Beth spends some time with Billie Jean King.

Doug Bruno (WBCA President and DePaul head coach) took time from his season and went with me to Cleveland, Ohio, for the fall meeting with the NCAA. I cherish the time that Doug spends as an ambassador for our association. I really appreciate Doug being able to change gears from the season and contribute to the WBCA on behalf of his peers and WBCA member coaches.

Beth and Dell Robinson (Mid-American Conference) join forces at the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic PlanningCommittee meeting

Next, it was back to Indianapolis for the NCAA Diversity Leadership Strategic Planning Committee meeting. We are going to roll out our statement of belief and our findings at the NCAA Convention in Orlando, Florida, on January 6. I was really pleased about the weight, focus and discussion on the inclusion of women’s athletics in intercollegiate athletics.

Indianapolis seems like my second home lately. I attended the NCAA Task Force meeting for the National Center of Lesbian Rights (NCLR). The emphasis was on negative recruiting in intercollegiate athletics. It was very broad with discussions on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, transgender and the safety of the student-athlete.

I made my first stop of the 2006-2007 season at the WBCA/Metro Sports Classic in Kansas City, Missouri. I was able to attend practices, which I love doing because it is the closest you can get to our game, student-athletes and coaches. It was great spending time with Phyllis Mangina (Seton Hall), Bonnie Henrickson (Kansas), Lisa Bluder (Iowa) and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson (Missouri State). A special thanks goes out to our partner, Basketball Travelers, Inc., along with WIN for KC for doing such a great job with this tournament!

Beth Bass “enjoys” getting her flu shot

Then, it was straight to the State Farm Tip-Off Classic at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. I realized a really special moment as I was sitting courtside with Past President Marsha Sharp (formerly at Texas Tech), while watching current President Doug Bruno play against our incoming President Sherri Coale (WBCA Vice President and Oklahoma head coach). Sometimes I just feel like I am a human conduit of strong leadership.

Also, I had a chance to hang out with Carla McGhee (former Auburn assistant and WNBA Player), and I want to welcome her as the new WNBA Director of Player Personnel. I enjoyed sitting with her on press row because she brings her own snacks and shares. I like sitting beside Jill Pizzotti (Nike), but she does not talk to me that much. She watches the game like she is coaching.

What a month of November. I swear, as Bob Dylan’s song says, I think “The Times They Are A-Changin”. I attended the USA Basketball Board of Directors meeting. With Val Ackerman as the President of USA Basketball, we are in good hands and I have total confidence that Anne Donovan and her staff will bring home another gold in 2008. Take my word for it.

Next I was off to Texas Tech for the WBCA Coaches’ Trophy presentation to Marsha Sharp. The WBCA Coaches’ Trophy program started in 1994, and Marsha won the National Championship and finished first in the USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 Division I Coaches’ Poll in 1993. It was great to be involved with the presentation, and watching the baton being passed from one class act to another, with Kristy Curry as the new head coach of the Lady Raider Nation.

Beth Bass and Marsha Sharp during the trophy presentation.

Registration for the WBCA's 2007 National Convention in Cleveland is still open.
Click here to register now!

Fordham announces WBB Coach's Show
Fordham women’s basketball coach Cathy Andruzzi and WFUV’s Executive Sports Producer Bob Ahrens announced that WFUV will air a weekly internet coach’s show on WFUV.org. The inaugural show will be called “The Cathy Andruzzi Show”, and will be the first women’s basketball coach’s show in New York City history.

ASU coach files report
The relationship between Alabama State coaches and the school's compliance department has been tenuous in recent years. According to a university police report from Nov. 1, ASU women's basketball coach Freda Freeman-Jackson contacted campus police and filed a harassment complaint after assistant compliance coordinator Monique Chatfield became belligerent and hostile in Freeman-Jackson's Acadome office.

Research reveals academic achievement
Division I student-athletes continue to outpace their student-body counterparts in the classroom according to graduation-rates data the NCAA released. Research from the federal graduation-rate methodology required through the Student Right-to-Know Act shows student-athletes in the entering class of 1999 graduated at a rate of 63 percent, two percentage points higher than the student-body rate.

Frese Signs No. 1 Recruiting Class
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese has followed up a national championship season and four-straight top-10 recruiting classes with signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, according to the All-Star Girls Report.

Division II Academic Success Rate
A new NCAA graduation-rate methodology released for the first time in Division II shows student-athletes graduating at rates significantly higher than those revealed using the federal rate. The new measurement is Division II’s Academic Success Rate (ASR), a metric similar to the Division I Graduation Success Rate that takes transfer students into account but goes one step further by including student-athletes not on athletically related financial aid. The result is that the ASR captures more than twice the enrolled student-athletes as the federal rate, largely because of about 8,000 nonscholarship athletes being included in the NCAA calculation.

Jeffers wins 500th
Capital women's coach Dixie Jeffers became the sixth coach in NCAA Division III history to win 500 career games with as the Crusaders downed Wittenberg 69-63. In her 24th year as a college basketball coach Jeffers is a combined 500-133 (52-21 in three years at Rio Grande (Ohio) and 448-112 in 21 years at Capital).

Union College (Ky.) sets school record
Union College drained a school-record 21 three-pointers in a 110-54 victory Saturday over visiting Ohio State University-Marion in the Union College Classic. The Lady Bulldogs hit 21 of 45 shots from long range, surpassing the previous record of 17.

Settlement made in H.S. Title IX case
The Birmingham (Ala.) Board of Education agreed to a settlement with Roderick Jackson, a high school girls basketball coach whose Supreme Court case established that schools can't retaliate against whistle-blowers in Title IX cases. Jackson was fired as coach at Ensley High School in 2001. He said it was in retaliation for complaining that his team did not get equal treatment with the boys basketball team. The school board said he was fired for performance issues.

NCAA considers change in WBB
The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Enhancement Discussion Group is examining the feasibility of moving the women’s basketball championship back one week to position the event uniquely in the NCAA championship landscape. But proponents of a move say it could enhance the women’s championship by giving it a timeframe late enough to be on its own but still clearly within the basketball-season window.

WNBA eyes Atlanta franchise
The women's professional basketball league, the WNBA, has told Hawks-Thrashers owner Atlanta Spirit that there is interest in bringing a team to the city. The WNBA, which is backed by the NBA, has expressed interest in growing to 16 teams. It also is possible that a team could be relocated from another city.

December 31, 2006:
Deadline to Make your Tax-Deductible Contribution to the BFJ Internship Program

January 8, 2007:
WBCA Award Nominations Go Online (Must be a current member to participate) at 12 pm ET

Betty F. Jaynes Internship Class of 2007 Begins

January 17, 2007:
Nike's So You Want To Be A Coach Application Deadline

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. (ET) for the WBCA's High School All-America game presented by NIKE

February 5, 2007:
Division I Conference Captains Conference Call from 12 pm-1 pm ET

February 12, 2007:
Division II Conference Captains Conference Call from 11 am-12 pm ET

Division III Conference Captains Conference Call from 12 pm-1 pm ET

February 16, 2007:
Deadline for WBCA Award Nominations
(5pm ET)

February 23, 2007:
Ballots for Kodak/WBCA All-America Team and Ballots for the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National Coach of the Year go online at 12 pm ET

February 28, 2007:
WBCA National Convention Pre-Registration Deadline

March 21, 2007:
Nominations due for Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year and WBCA Defensive Player of the Year by 5:00 pm ET

Attention! Do you know someone who is passionate about women's basketball and would be perfect as a Legislation and Organizatiol intern in our Betty F. Jaynes Internship program?
If so, please direct them to learn more about the opportunity by clicking here.  

For information regarding these dates, the WBCA, or any of the WBCA programs,
please contact:
WBCA
4646 Lawrenceville Highway
Lilburn, GA 30047
(770) 279-8027 :: Office
(770) 279-8473 :: Fax
wbca@wbca.org