Lilburn, Ga. (March 16, 2003) -- Northern Illinois' Athletic Director Cary Groth has been named the recipient of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Administrator of the Year Award for her excellence in athletic administration. This award is presented annually to an administrator, athletic director, associate or assistant athletic director, or senior woman administrator who has excelled at encouraging the growth and quality of women's basketball programs and women's athletic programs overall. The candidate must also have served as a professional role model for student-athletes.

Groth, who played basketball and tennis for NIU in the late 1970s, returned to her alma mater in 1981 as an assistant tennis coach, eventually taking over as head coach the following year. Groth then served in a dual role as tennis coach and assistant women's athletic director before deciding to concentrate solely on administrative duties in 1984.

In 1988, Groth assisted with the merger of the Huskie men's and women's athletics programs and was promoted to an associate athletic director slot in January 1989. Nine months later, she was elevated into the senior associate role. As senior associate athletics director, Groth was involved in all aspects of the athletics program including compliance, personnel, fiscal management, facility development, external activities, chairing the school's Athletics Hall of Fame committee, and day-to-day management of sports teams and support areas.

On August 8, 1994, Groth became the athletic director for Northern Illinois University, and has done a phenomenal job since assuming the role. Groth assisted with planning the university's Convocation Center, which was finished last fall. The 10,000-seat, 215,000 square-foot facility stands as one of the largest projects ever on the DeKalb campus. It will be used for NIU volleyball, basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, as well as numerous other functions for the university and the community-at-large.

Groth's leadership contributed to the planning and development of the $4.0 million Huskie Stadium East Grandstand renovation in 1995 and the facility's new Field Turf surface which debuted in 2001. Groth also reformed the athletic department's student-athlete support services, which include the Academic Excellence Program to recognize the accomplishments of student-athletes in the classroom.

Cary Groth will be formally presented at the Jostens-Berenson Awards Luncheon on Saturday, April 5, at 12 p.m. at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Jostens-Berenson Awards Luncheon is part of the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four in Atlanta.

Past recipients of the WBCA Administrator of the Year Award include: Marita Hynes, University of Oklahoma (2002); Jane Meier, Northern Kentucky (2001); Bernadette McGlade, ACC (2000); Don DiJulia, St. Joseph's (Pa.) University (1999); Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul University (1998); Lynn Dorn, North Dakota State University (1997); Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, Southwest Missouri State University (1996); Ellen Perry, Pennsylvania State University (1995); Lynn Barry, USA Basketball (1994); the late Jeannine McHaney, Texas Tech University (1993); Dr. Christine Grant, University of Iowa (1992); Dr. James Jarrett, Old Dominion University (1991); Dr. Judith Holland, UCLA (1990); Dr. Donna Lopiano, University of Texas (1989); Dr. Joyce Wong, University of Rochester (1988); Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee (1987); Nora Lynn Finch, North Carolina State University (1987); Dr. Charlotte West, Southern Illinois University (1987).

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.