Lilburn, Georgia (March 5, 2003) - RUSSELL ATHLETIC and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) have selected Joe Lombard as the 2003 RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA High School National Coach of the Year. Lombard becomes the 21st coach in history to receive this accolade, which has been selected by the WBCA since 1983. With receiving this prestigious award comes the honor of serving as a head coach at the High School All-America Game.

Lombard is in his eighteenth year as head coach of Canyon High School girl's basketball team. With twenty-five years of coaching experience, Lombard has led all of his teams to the Texas playoffs, and all but three have been district champions. Coach Lombard has compiled a career total record of 838 wins - 77 losses. He has also been recognized five-times as Texas High School Coach of the Year.

"RUSSELL ATHLETIC would like to congratulate Canyon High's head coach Joe Lombard for being named the High School Coach of the Year," said Rod McGeachy, Vice President of Marketing for Russell Athletic. "RUSSELL ATHLETIC knows that attaining the respect of ones peers is the highest accolade a coach can receive."

Lombard is one of six Russell Athletic/WBCA National Coaches of the Year selected by the Association, which also names winners for each of the other five WBCA collegiate divisions (Divisions I, II, III, NAIA, Junior College/Community College) plus the High School division. Each winner is selected through a two-level process. The first level is by District, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical district vote for their respective top coach. Lombard, having been named a District Coach of the Year, advanced as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other eight District Coaches of the Year in High School.

Russell Athletic and the WBCA would also like to congratulate the other eight District Coaches of the Year: Laney Holbrook (District 1 - Oliver Ames High School - North Easton, Mass); Bob Mackey, (District 2 - Christ the King High School - Middle Village, NY); Fred Senter (District 3 - Mullins High School Mullins, SC); Dave Power (District 4 - Bishop Fenwick High School - Oak Hill, Ill.); Kelly Flynn, (District 5 - South Sioux City High School - South Sioux City, Neb.); Dave Houle (District 7 - Mt. View High School - Orem, Utah); Gary Lavender (District 8 - Lake Oswego High School - Lake Oswego, Ore.) and Rick Insell (District 9 - Shelbyville Central High School - Shelbyville, Tenn.)

Lombard and the national winners from the other five divisions will be presented to the WBCA membership at the WBCA Russell Athletic Coach of the Year Banquet on Monday, April 7 at 1 p.m. at the Marriott Marquis Ballroom. The banquet is part of the 2003 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women's Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia.

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA please visit our website at www.wbca.org.