ATLANTA, Ga. (March 26, 2003) -- Mechelle Voepel, sportswriter for both the Kansas City Star and ESPN.com, has been named the winner of the 2003 Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Mel Greenberg Media Award.

Named after Mel Greenberg, the Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter who founded the Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll, the WBCA Media Award is presented annually to a member of the media who has best displayed a commitment to women's basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women's game. Selected by past recipients of the award, the candidate must have had a positive impact on the growth and national or regional exposure of the sport, been involved in the media exposure of women's basketball for a minimum of five years, and should be a media ambassador for the women's game.

Voepel has established herself as one of the premiere journalists in the nation in reporting and representing women's basketball. In the year of 2002 alone she was responsible for approximately 150 women's basketball bylines in the KC Star. The KC Star has a circulation range of approximately 300,000 readers weekly and approximately one million on Sunday's newspaper

Greenberg, the pre-eminent name in women's basketball coverage, was named the winner of the inaugural award in 1991. Voepel will be recognized at the 2003 Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year Awards Luncheon on Monday, April 7th at 1:00 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. The Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year Awards Luncheon is a program of the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four in Atlanta.

As the 13th winner of the award, Voepel joins a distinguished list of recipients, including: Bob Kenney, Courier Post (2002); Robin Roberts, ABC News (2001); Vic Dorr, Richmond Times-Dispatch (2000); Ann Meyers Drysdale, ESPN (1999); Mary Garber, Winston-Salem Journal (1998); the late Mitch Parkinson, Southern Illinois University (1997); Debby Jennings, University of Tennessee (1996); the late Mike Augustin, St. Paul Pioneer Press (1995); Mimi Griffin, MSG Promotions/ESPN (1994); Jane Burns, Des Moines Register (1993); Debbie Becker, USA TODAY (1992); and Mel Greenberg, Philadelphia Inquirer (1991).

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.