Head Coach Stefanie Pemper is in her sixth season at Bowdoin College. Under Pemper's guidance, the team has won four consecutive conference championships. In 1998-99, Pemper led the team to the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament. This year marks another first as the team heads into the national semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time on March 19. The team is undefeated (29-0) this season and has a 44-game home win streak. The New England Small College Athletic Association has also named Pemper Coach of the Year this season. Last year, Pemper received 2003 WBCA Region I Coach of the Year honors.

"RUSSELL ATHLETIC congratulates Stefanie Pemper of Bowdoin College, the 2004 RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Division III Coach of the Year," said Rod McGeachy, Vice President of Marketing. "We respect the commitment that all coaches make to their team and their sport and we at RUSSELL ATHLETIC are proud to be associated with this special achievement in Coach Pemper's life."

Pemper is one of six WBCA National Russell Athletic/WBCA Coaches of the Year selected by the Association, which also names winners for each of the other four WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions I and II, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school. Each collegiate winner is selected through a two-level process. The first level is by region, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical region vote for their respective top coach. Pemper, having received the most votes in WBCA Region 1, advanced as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other seven Regional Russell Athletic/WBCA Coaches of the Year in NCAA Division III.

Pemper and the national winners from the other five divisions will be presented to the WBCA membership at the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA Coach of the Year Banquet on Tuesday, April 6 at 12:00 p.m., at the New Orleans Marriott. The banquet is part of the 2004 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Women's Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana.

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 WBCA.org.