The four new members of the WBCA Board of Directors are Duffy Burns, the Head Coach at Cleveland State University, who represents Male Coaches of Women’s Basketball; Terri Mitchell, the Head Coach at Marquette University, who becomes the NCAA Division I Legislative Chair; Cathy Parson, the Head Coach at Howard University, who represents NCAA Division I/Mideast; and Paul Thomas, the Head Coach at Cal State Poly University - Pomona, who represents NCAA Division II/Group II. Each will serve a three-year term that will end in 2005.

“We are rejuvenated each year when new members are elected to serve the WBCA Board of Directors,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “This year we welcome four coaches, Duffy Burns, Terri Mitchell, Cathy Parson and Paul Thomas, who I know are as excited to come in and work hard on the issues facing the game of Women’s Basketball as we are to have them aboard.”

“I am pleased to welcome Duffy, Terri, Cathy and Paul to the Board of Directors of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association,” said WBCA Board of Directors President Marsha Sharp, who is the Head Coach at Texas Tech University. “I know that based on my conversations with them, they are enthusiastic and will do a wonderful job for us and the game of Women’s Basketball.”

Burns replaces Bob Foley, formerly of the University of Richmond. Mitchell replaces Lynne Agee of the University of North Carolina - Greensboro. Parson replaces Carol Ross, formerly of the University of Florida. Thomas replaces Deirdre Kane of West Chester University. Foley, Agee, Ross and Kane all had served on the Board of Directors since 1999.

DUFFY BURNS

Burns, on what prompted him to run for election to the WBCA Board of Directors: “I just want to give back to the game and give back to the WBCA. The WBCA is our flagship to help the game of Women’s Basketball and I just want to give any way that I can.”

Burns, on what he hopes to accomplish during his term: “I think I can bring some perspective. I was on the men’s side for nine years. This is my 12th year on the women’s side, so I bring a different perspective than people who have only been in Women’s Basketball. I think there are some different things that the Male Coaches committee needs to take a new direction with, our programming at the WBCA National Convention for one. We need to help the young coaches any way that we can. Hopefully I can bring some of those things to the forefront. I’d like to be more of a service-related, education-related committee. … I think that I’ve got enough people that I know and have enough resources where I can be able to do that.”

Burns, on how he can mobilize consensus among male and female coaches: “If we have good programming, different programming, we can have what I’d hope to see, which is a cross-section of men and women. I want both sexes there to promote dialogue.”

Burns, on why he feels younger coaches can count on veteran coaches: “I think that we need that younger coaches, younger male coaches especially, need to know that we’re there for them, that the WBCA is there for them and that I’m there for them. … There are a lot of older coaches that have been in the game a long time that can be resources that are never asked for anything. If you’re not asked, you don’t get.”

Entering his eighth year at the helm of Cleveland State, Duffy Burns has guided the Vikings to an overall mark of 92-104, including a 49-55 mark in conference play. After just one season, his style of play enabled the Vikings to win the NCAA Statistical Championship for three-point field goals made. In only three years, he became the Vikings’ second-winningest Women’s Basketball coach in school history. It took him four seasons to lead the Vikes to their first winning campaign in 15 years. In his fifth year at the helm, he directed Cleveland State to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference title game — the Vikings’ first appearance in a conference championship tilt.

On a national level Burns is the Horizon League representative to the WBCA Conference Captains Committee and is a voting member for the USA Today Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, as well as being a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the past 15 years. In 2000, Burns was named to the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Committee, which selects the nation's best female college player who is 5-8 or under.

A native of South Bend, Ind., Burns earned a B.A. in business education from Ball State in 1985. Burns and his wife, Mary Beth, live with their two children, Megan Elizabeth and Kyle David in their North Ridgeville, Ohio, residence.

TERRI MITCHELL

Mitchell, on what prompted her to run for election to the WBCA Board of Directors: “I think it’s a great opportunity to give back to the profession. I feel very strongly that so much has been done to pave the way for young coaches to have an awesome opportunity to coach the sport we love and now the younger coaches need to give back. It’s time in my career, the start of my seventh year as a head coach, to give back. I’ve been on several committees, but when Beth and Marsha had called to ask me to be a part of legislation, which is a great interest of mine, there was no hesitation to say, ‘Yes.’”

Mitchell, on what she hopes to accomplish during her term: “In my Legislation position, I want to do the best I can to keep our coaches informed. I think there are many great issues that are discussed and somewhere along the line at times they get lost or coaches don’t know about them. So any way that I can provide an opportunity to keep coaches informed and at the same time to be that link to keep asking the Board, the WBCA, the Executive Committee to look at issues that are of interest to the coaches in our profession.”

Heading into her seventh season as Marquette University Head Coach, Terri Mitchell is coming off a season of milestones. In her sixth season, Mitchell won her 100th career game and later became Marquette's all-time winningest coach. Her career mark of 113-62 is tops at MU in both wins and winning percentage (.646).

Mitchell has led the Golden Eagles to four NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach. She won 20 or more games in each of her first four seasons at MU. Prior to becoming a head coach in the 1996-97 season, she was an assistant coach at Marquette for five seasons, in which MU advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice and to the NWIT once. Mitchell graduated from Duquesne in 1989 and served as a graduate assistant at Arizona State before coming to Marquette.

CATHY PARSON

Parson, on what prompted her to run for election to the WBCA Board of Directors: “My colleagues and peers elected me to the Board and at that time I saw no reason to decline. After realizing what the position entailed and what it was about, I felt like it was an opportunity to get into the grassroots of an establishment that I love, and that’s Women’s Basketball. Learning from that level that we can expand and go a long way if I know more about the intricate details of how things operate, I could do a far better job serving the game and also serving my community at large. I want to be able to listen to what the coaches have to say and then communicate that as best I can. So I think it’s a great role being that go-between.”

Parson, on what she hopes to accomplish during her term: “I want to learn as much as I can, be able to deposit I can in terms of my knowledge of the game, my knowledge of my conference and my region to represent them well and carry out and carry back their issues and be able to effect change for all of us and make things better for all of us.”

“I’m learning as I go and I look forward to the opportunity to interact with my peers more to find out what their distinct issues are. I think they are different than a lot of issues and I think that as we find them out we will deal with them separately and just try to conquer them as we go.”

Cathy Parson enters her third season as Head Coach of the Howard University Lady Bison. Prior to coming to Howard, Parson served as associate head coach at the University of Richmond. Prior to her stint there, Parson served first as the assistant coach and later as interim head coach of the WNBA Washington Mystics in 1998.

Parson had a successful stint at Christopher Newport College from 1988 to 1998 where she compiled an impressive 183-83 record. While at Christopher Newport she earned four regular season titles, three co-regular season titles and three Dixie Conference Tournament titles. From 1985 until 1988, she served as assistant coach at Providence College.

A native of Hagerstown, MD, Parson played collegiately at West Virginia University where she still holds the school record for total points in a career with 2,128. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in 1984 and in 1996 West Virginia University retired her jersey. Parson was one of 18 women to be invited to try out for the Harlem Globetrotters. In the Fall of 2001, Parson was inducted into the Christopher Newport University Hall of Fame.

PAUL THOMAS

Thomas, on what prompted him to run for election to the WBCA Board of Directors: “One of the reasons I wanted to run for the Board of Directors it that it is a way of learning more about what happens in the inner-workings of Women’s Basketball. I think that gives myself, and hopefully the Division II coaches an opportunity to have a better understanding. At the Division II level we want to make sure that we boost our enrollment in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.”

Thomas, on what he hopes to accomplish during his term: “I hope to increase awareness among my Division II counterparts and strengthen the enrollment in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, which in turn strengthens our voice at the Division II level. Sometimes if we are not heard, then we get pushed aside and it will be part of my responsibility. Hopefully that does not happen. With my contacts in Division II and being in at that level now at the start of my 13th year, and making contacts and networking with many of the Division II coaches, hopefully I can get on the telephone and communicate with them somehow about the important issues and that we have to collectively and in an organized manner, tackle some issues that we feel are important.”

“I’m very proud to be a voting member of the Board and I’m excited to be here and hopefully I learn.”

When he took over the reigns of the Cal Poly - Pomona Women’s Basketball program from legendary coach Darlene May in 1994, Paul Thomas was intent on leading the Broncos back into the spotlight as one of the nation’s elite NCAA Division II programs.

After leading the Broncos to back-to-back national championships in 2001 and 2002, Thomas has lifted the program back to the top. Cal Poly - Pomona, which won three national championships for May, is now tied with North Dakota State for the most national titles in NCAA Division II with five.

Now in his 13th season overall at Cal Poly Pomona and entering his ninth year as the head coach, Thomas has firmly established himself as one of the finest mentors in the country. He was honored with the Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, the Division II Bulletin’s National Coach of the Year and the CCAA Co-Coach of the Year for the 2001-02 season. He led the Broncos to a 168-63 record in his first eight seasons as head coach, including a dazzling 55-7 record in the two championship runs and 104-16 over the past four years.

ABOUT THE WBCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The WBCA Executive Committee of the Board of Directors is comprised of six members: Marsha Sharp, Head Coach at Texas Tech University, President; Wendy Larry, Head Coach at Old Dominion University, Vice-President; Rick Reeves, Head Coach at University of Southern Mississippi, Secretary; Mary Ellen Burt, Head Coach at Union College, Treasurer; Patty Viverito, Missouri Valley Conference, Committee on Basketball Issues Chair; Theresa Grentz, Head Coach at University of Illinois, Past President.

In addition to Burns, Mitchell, Parson and Thomas, the members of the WBCA Board of Directors are: Debbie Ryan, Head Coach at University of Virginia, NCAA Division I/East; June Olkowski, Head Coach at Northwestern University, NCAA Division I/Midwest; Barb Smith, University of California, Berkeley, NCAA Division I/West; Dave Smith, Head Coach at Bellarmine University, NCAA Division II/Group I; Kris Huffman, Head Coach at De Pauw University, NCAA Division III/At Large; Pam Ruder, Head Coach at University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, NCAA Division III/At Large; Susan Johnson, Head Coach at Georgetown College, NAIA; Valerie Goodwin-Colbert, Head Coach at Southwestern College. JC/CC; Rick Insell, Head Coach at Shelbyville High School, High School; Mickie DeMoss, Assistant Coach at University of Tennessee, Assistant Coaches; Shann Hart, Head Coach at American University, Black Coaches Association; Nancy Winstel, Head Coach at Northern Kentucky University, NCAA Division II Legislative Chair; Tim Shea, Head Coach at Salem State College, NCAA Division III Legislative Chair; and Connie Hurlbut, Director of Basketball Operations, WNBA.

ABOUT THE WBCA