Next, I was scheduled to go to San Pueblo, New Mexico, for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee summer meeting. We decided it would be more prudent to do a conference call than for all of us to travel in-person to the meeting. More information to come on the discussions derived from this meeting.

Beth runs through drills at the clinic in Key West.

After celebrating my favorite holiday, July 4th, I headed to Key West where Katie Meier (Miami) and her entire staff volunteered to give back to the community by hosting a clinic for the local kids. I do not think she realized how involved I was going to be in the clinic. I loved having some one on one time with the kids, something I do not get enough of in my day to day job. I had a ball! Thank you to each of you who give back to the community through programs such as this – how rewarding it is to see the smile on those kids faces. This might be the only positive reinforcement that they receive.

Back in the office, the WBCA senior management and directors sat down for several days to discuss a realignment of the WBCA vision and member benefits based on the 2009 WBCA Membership Survey results. Thank you so much for each of you that took the time to fill out the survey; we had over 40 percent participation!

With your feedback, we have evaluated your comments, concerns and suggestions. In the next few months, we will be rolling out several additional membership benefits, revamping numerous current benefits and even removing some programs in order to put staff efforts toward enhancements that are deemed much more important to our membership. Some of these changes include a new magazine, e-newsletter, networking forums, and website outreach, each filled with resources to help you continue to educate yourself, connect with other members, and grow in your profession throughout the year. We look forward to better servicing your needs!

Beth hangs out with friends of the game at the Women’s US Open.

On that note, I am sad to say that this will be the last edition of Net.News. The WBCA will be transitioning this publication into an e-newsletter that will be filled with news, important dates and resources; I feel this will be much more important to your career advancement. As we rollout the new benefits, please continue to provide your feedback and suggestions so that we can constantly better align with your needs.

Don’t forget that many of your renewal dates are coming up on August 31. Click here to renew now. The WBCA National Convention registration for San Antonio will be up and running soon as well. Visit wbca.org for more information and constant updates.

Thank you again for your continued support of the WBCA. I hope you look forward to these new, enriched WBCA assets as much as I do. Continue to enjoy the rest of your summer!

Safe travels…

Your CEO,

Beth Bass


July 30, 2009 WBCA » 4646 Lawrenceville Hwy » Lilburn, GA » 30047 » 770.279.8027
Hello WBCA members! Can you believe that the summer is halfway over? Since I last wrote you, I am sure that your schedule has been consumed with camps, recruiting, preseason prep and hopefully a little vacation. I cannot say that my schedule has been filled with the same action, but I have definitely been doing my due diligence to continue growing our sport, especially during this tough economic epoch for all of us. Coach Stringer poses with fellow 2009 Naismith Hall of Fame class member, Michael Jordan. Mid May, I headed to the annual Naismith Board of Trustees meeting. I am very excited about the incoming class for the Naismith Hall of Fame. Congratulations to C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers). Not a bad induction class – Michael Jordan is being inducted this year as well! After a short Memorial Day retreat in the area of Destin, Florida, I went to Indianapolis for several meetings. With our travel scale back, it was nice to consolidate this line-up of meetings into one trip. To tip-off my meetings, I went to speak at the Black Coaches & Administrators (BCA) Achieving Coaching Excellence (ACE) program, and then headed to our St. Louis in-person debriefing at the NCAA headquarters. The following day we put our marketing hats on to discuss future opportunities, and are now locked and loaded for a great time in San Antonio! Also while in Indy, the NCAA hosted a discussion, led by Jennifer Alley (NACWAA), where several coaches association executive directors collaborated to figure out ways to utilize each other as resources during all of the cutbacks our memberships are facing on campus. If we streamline our strategies and evaluate best practices around our associations, we can move forward and work together to assist our constituencies in the best way possible. Beth spends time with fellow NACDA members at a reception in Orlando. Next in the lineup was the Executive Committee meeting for the National Association of Collegiate Directors or Athletics (NACDA) in Orlando. I was able to share the findings and discussions from the NACWAA meeting in Indy. With mandatory furloughs, layoffs on campuses and hundreds of thousands of dollars in endowments slashed, it is so important to take a deep breath and make sure that we do not kill a fly with a sledgehammer. Here are my thoughts. We must educate our decision makers, the athletic directors, that cutting out all non-essential travel and professional development across the board can have very adverse affects on your programs. The biggest assets of athletic programs are you, their coaches! Someone phrased it very eloquently to me – “Bad coaching is very expensive.” This is not the time to abandon the financial support of the coaches; it is much better to invest in your coach and their continued professional development than to go through a hiring and firing process. Interestingly enough, the NACDA convention had much better numbers than expected, and it had its best numbers for their expo ever. Athletic directors understand the importance of their own professional development during this rough economic downturn. The professional development of their coaches is just as important. Our conventions provide invaluable educational development, networking and recognition of your tireless work.	Next, I was scheduled to go to San Pueblo, New Mexico, for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee summer meeting. We decided it would be more prudent to do a conference call than for all of us to travel in-person to the meeting. More information to come on the discussions derived from this meeting. Beth runs through drills at the clinic in Key West. After celebrating my favorite holiday, July 4th, I headed to Key West where Katie Meier (Miami) and her entire staff volunteered to give back to the community by hosting a clinic for the local kids. I do not think she realized how involved I was going to be in the clinic. I loved having some one on one time with the kids, something I do not get enough of in my day to day job. I had a ball! Thank you to each of you who give back to the community through programs such as this – how rewarding it is to see the smile on those kids faces. This might be the only positive reinforcement that they receive. Back in the office, the WBCA senior management and directors sat down for several days to discuss a realignment of the WBCA vision and member benefits based on the 2009 WBCA Membership Survey results. Thank you so much for each of you that took the time to fill out the survey; we had over 40 percent participation! With your feedback, we have evaluated your comments, concerns and suggestions. In the next few months, we will be rolling out several additional membership benefits, revamping numerous current benefits and even removing some programs in order to put staff efforts toward enhancements that are deemed much more important to our membership. Some of these changes include a new magazine, e-newsletter, networking forums, and website outreach, each filled with resources to help you continue to educate yourself, connect with other members, and grow in your profession throughout the year. We look forward to better servicing your needs! Beth hangs out with friends of the game at the Women’s US Open. On that note, I am sad to say that this will be the last edition of Net.News. The WBCA will be transitioning this publication into an e-newsletter that will be filled with news, important dates and resources; I feel this will be much more important to your career advancement. As we rollout the new benefits, please continue to provide your feedback and suggestions so that we can constantly better align with your needs. Don’t forget that many of your renewal dates are coming up on August 31. Click here to renew now. The WBCA National Convention registration for San Antonio will be up and running soon as well. Visit wbca.org for more information and constant updates. Thank you again for your continued support of the WBCA. I hope you look forward to these new, enriched WBCA assets as much as I do. Continue to enjoy the rest of your summer! Safe travels… Your CEO, Beth Bass
WBCA Membership News & Notes	Sponsor News
Don’t forget to renew your WBCA membership before Aug. 31! Our sport is experiencing some major challenges due to budget cuts at schools and universities; however, this is exactly the time that you should invest in your professional association. The WBCA is the place where coaches share information about how to accomplish more with fewer resources, and it’s your voice in our sport. Help us keep working together to grow women’s basketball at all levels. Also, remember that registration for the 2010 National Convention will open on Sept. 8. San Antonio is always one of our most popular locations for the meeting, and we expect everything to be Texas-sized - more education, networking events and career development opportunities. In order to register, your membership must be active, so go ahead and renew today. You don’t want to miss out on getting your discounted registration, hotel reservations and tickets to the Final Four!	New opportunity....Need a mover? Click here Attention! Check out the WBCA bookstore where you'll find the new release Coaching Basketball Technical and Tactical Skills, plus other must-have basketball resources from the American Sport Education Program and Human Kinetics.

Basketball academic group stands by its plan The Division I Basketball Academic Enhancement Group has reaffirmed its support for a mandatory summer-school plan for incoming freshmen that makes member institutions responsible for assessing those players’ academic preparedness and for properly acclimating them into the campus educational climate. Prospects identified through the assessment as needing an academic head start must enroll in six credit hours in the summer session and pass three to be eligible for the fall. Mock selections a real benefit for women's basketball coaches Eighteen Division I women’s basketball coaches learned what it’s like to be a member of the women’s basketball committee after going through a mock-selection exercise July 16-17 at the NCAA national office. The NCAA Division I women’s basketball staff and members of the actual selection committee conducted the mock session to illustrate the process the 10-person basketball panel experiences each March when the championship brackets are constructed and announced. While similar sessions had been held previously for media members and former coaches, this was the first one that consisted entirely of current coaches and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association administrators. Teresa Edwards elected to women's basketball Hall Of Fame Former Georgia Lady Bulldog Teresa Edwards headlines the list the of inductees included in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. The six-person group was announced in conjunction with the WNBA All-Star Game. The class also includes former star players Teresa Weatherspoon and Rebecca Lobo; former Maryland coach Chris Weller; Texas high school coaching legend Leta Andrews; and Gloria Ray, the President and CEO of the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation.	Investors announce plan to bring WNBA to Tulsa A group of investors unveiled plans to bring a WNBA franchise to Tulsa, even as the league president warned that there is a Sept. 1 deadline to firm things up for the beginning of the 2010 season. It was unknown whether Tulsa would be an expansion team or if an existing team would relocate here, but officials expressed confidence in the city's ability to support a major-league team. The investment group did not discuss how much capital had been raised so far. Panel requests study of minority barriers The NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee recently voted to move forward with a study that will identify factors that affect the recruitment, advancement and retention of people of color in intercollegiate athletics. The new study will be modeled after the “Perceived Barriers to Women in Intercollegiate Athletics Careers” survey, which originally was published in 1989. That study looked at the perceptions female athletics administrators, coaches, game officials and student-athletes had about their careers and aspirations and challenges they perceived in reaching their goals. A 2008 version of the study built on the initial survey. NAIA Launches Redesigned Champions of Character Site The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is pleased to announce the launch of its new and improved Champions of Character website, viewable and searchable at www.ChampionsofCharacter.org. The redesigned site provides users with a comprehensive overview of the program and features a new and interactive online coaches course, resources for student-athletes, coaches, parents and administrators and much more. The goal is to provide visitors with a virtual experience that complements and enhances Champions of Character on-site programming.
WBCA Important Dates to Remember
July 31, 2009 WBCA Executive Committee and Board of Directors Meeting - Atlanta, Ga. August 4, 2009 Women's Basketball Preliminary Round Host Seminar – Indianapolis, Ind. (August 4-6)	August 31, 2009 WBCA Memberships Expire September 1, 2009 Happy Birthday to Betty F. Jaynes, WBCA Consultant and former CEO
Buzzer Beaters	WBCA Employment Opportunities!
Attention! Still seeking a coach or camp assistant? Check out the career section by AthleticLink at WBCA.org. As you have coaching changes, please keep the WBCA informed.	Attention!So Resumes Are Now Online! If you have a coaching vacancy, WBCA’s So You Want To Be A Coach participants are the best place to start. To view ALL participants’ resumes and a list of the class of 2009, please click here.
Membership Information
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
You are being sent this email as a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. To renew your membership please visit the WBCA Membership page to renew online or phone Membership directly at 770-279-8027 ext. 134.