Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

"On behalf of the WBCA, I would like to give Debbie Richardson a pat on the back for her commitment to women's athletics," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "Debbie is a wonderful role model for the game of basketball and is very deserving of the WBCA Administrator of the Year Award."

Richardson is the Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Campbell University. Her responsibilities include, overseeing sport program management as well as the daily internal operations of the Campbell University Athletic Department, which fields 19 varsity athletic programs. Richardson currently serves on the NCAA Championships Cabinet and also chairs the Atlantic Sun Sports Policy Committee. In addition, Richardson also sits on the A-Sun Tournament Committee and serves as the A-Sun Administrative Liaison for Women's Basketball. Richardson, who has more than 20 years of experience in Division I athletics, was an assistant women's basketball coach at Georgia Tech for four years.

Richardson entered the coaching profession as an assistant at her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979. She has also served two stints as an assistant at Georgia Tech and was head coach at East Tennessee State from 1986-94.

While at ETSU, Richardson also held Senior Women's Administrator duties. Her teams posted a 97 percent graduation rate and she was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1993. At Georgia Tech, she was responsible for scouting and game-day management duties and served as an academic liaison for the Lady Jackets.

Richardson will be formally presented her award at the WBCA Awards Luncheon presented by State Farm and Jostens on Sunday April 3, at 12:30 p.m. at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. The WBCA Awards Luncheon presented by State Farm and Jostens, is part of the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the 2005 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four.

Past recipients of the WBCA Administrator of the Year Award include: Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, University of Denver (2004); Cary Groth, Northern Illinois University (2003); 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 Women's Basketball Coaches Association 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.