Press Release :: Women's Basketball Coaches Association

"Nike is committed to growing women's basketball and supporting those coaches involved in our game," said Jill Pizzotti, Nike's Manager of Women's College Basketball. "We are proud to sponsor the "So You Want To Be A Coach" program, focused on developing and educating these chosen young ladies on the coaching profession."

Nike's So You Want To Be A Coach is a collaborative effort between the WBCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association to provide an educational and professional foundation for collegiate minority female basketball players who now aspire to coach. The effort strives to ensure proper preparation for transitioning into the growing field of coaching. For the past three years the NCAA, through its Matching Grants for the Advancement of Minority Women Coaches, has awarded scholarships for the WBCA to use toward travel and lodging for the workshop. Nike's So You Want To Be A Coach honors the next generation of women's basketball coaches.

The coaching lessons shared with these participants will assist in identifying, recruiting and retaining minority women in the profession of coaching. At this year's workshop, the participants will have the opportunity to meet and learn from some high level professionals such as Rutgers Head Coach C. Vivian Stringer, LSU Head Coach Pokey Chatman, Executive Director of the Black Coaches Association Floyd Keith, and many others.

For qualification, the potential candidate must have exhausted her final year of basketball eligibility at a four-year institution OR have graduated within the past year. In addition, the candidate's head coach has to nominate them and must be an active WBCA member. Each participant is selected based on their academics, contributions to women's basketball on and off the court, professional resume and a written recommendation from their head coach.

Listed below is the 2006 class of Nike's So You Want To Be A Coach: