Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

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.

Jauss, a veteran Chicago Tribune sportswriter retired this past December after serving 32 years with the paper and writing for 50 years. He covered sports for multiple publications over the years including the Chicago Daily News and the Chicago Today, and was involved with the inaugural television show Sports Writer on Television. Jauss covered events for all genres of sports including World Series, Super Bowls, NBA Finals and NCAA® Final Fours®, but most of his efforts went towards promoting women's athletics with a major focus on women's basketball.

He specifically began covering women's collegiate basketball in the late 1970's with the AIAW tournaments. Jauss also covered the WBL team Chicago Hustle throughout the 1980's and 1990's and continued to cover collegiate basketball in Chicago, the Midwest and with the Big Ten conference. In December 2005, Jauss was inducted into the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Hall of Fame and also received COSIDA's Jake Wade Award in 1984.

Greenberg, the pre-eminent name in women's basketball coverage, was named the winner of the inaugural award in 1991. Jauss will be recognized at the 2006 RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon presented by AstraZeneca on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at 12:00 p.m. (ET) in the Hynes Convention Center Ballroom. The 2006 WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon is during the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the 2006 NCAA Women's Final Four in Boston, Mass. This year the WBCA celebrates it's Silver Anniversary, marking 25 years of existence.

As the 16th winner of the award, Bill Jauss joins a distinguished list of recipients, including: Dave Loane, University of Illinois (2005); Tam Flarup, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004); Mechelle Voepel, Kansas City Star/ESPN (2003); 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).