|
JEAN
LENTI PONSETTO – DePaul
University
Jean Lenti Ponsetto, current CWSA board chair and member since
2000, is in her ninth year as athletics director at DePaul University.
She has been a member of the athletics department staff at her
alma mater for the last 36 years as a coach and administrator
before being named to her current position on July 1, 2002. Under
Ponsetto, 14 of DePaul’s 15 programs have qualified for NCAA Championship
competition and over 1,000 student-athletes have been named to
conference academic honor rolls. Aside from her duties at DePaul,
Ponsetto has served in various leadership positions in service
to the NCAA and various constituent groups. She has been Chair
of the NCAA Division 1 WBB Committee, the NCAA Championships/Competition
Cabinet and the NCAA Basketball Officiating Committee. She was
a member of the joint NCAA/USOC Task Force. She also chairs the
Wade Trophy Selection Committee, is a past president of NACWAA
and of the NACDA Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association
and is currently serving on the Board of Directors chair of the
NCAA Division I. She also serves on the Board of Directors of
the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. She and her husband Joe reside
in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood near the DePaul campus. |
 |
CAROLYN
SCHLIE FEMOVICH – Patriot
League
Carolyn Schlie Femovich was appointed Executive Director of the
Patriot League, a NCAA Division I athletic conference in 1999.
During her tenure, Femovich has positioned the League as a leader
in academic achievement and athletic competitiveness, developed
a comprehensive multimedia package and marketing initiatives,
and supported membership efforts to provide broad-based and diverse
athletics programs focused on the personal development of all
student-athletes. Previously Femovich served for 17 years at the
University of Pennsylvania as Sr. Associate and Associate Athletic
Director. Throughout her profession, Femovich has served in numerous
leadership positions within the NCAA governance structure as well
as on various service and award committees. As a member of the
CWSA Board, she has served as chair of the Board as well as of
the Inspiration Awards Committee. She and her husband Robert reside
in Bethlehem, PA. |
 |
PATTY
VIVERITO – Missouri
Valley Conference
The only commissioner to govern the Missouri Valley Football Conference,
Patty Viverito completed her 26th season directing the conference
after guiding the league to national prominence in the 1980s.
Viverito also serves as senior associate commissioner for the
Missouri Valley Conference, with responsibilities including championships
administration and compliance and serving as the primary coaches
liaison for most sports. She served as the Tournament Director
of the 2001 and 2009 NCAA Women’s Final Four. A nationally respected
administrator, Viverito has served on the prestigious NCAA Executive
Committee and NCAA Council, chaired the NCAA Committee for Women’s
Athletics and the Olympic Sports Liaison Committee, and served
on numerous other committees and boards. Patty is married to Frank
Viverito, President and Executive Director of the St. Louis Sports
Commission. The Viveritos have two children, Gregory and Matthew.
They live in St. Louis, Mo. |
|
Linda M. Bruno – Skyline Conference
Linda Bruno was named the second full-time commissioner of the Skyline Conference on Jan. 3, 2011, and her extensive experience as an administrator n collegiate athletics includes more than 25 years of service at the conference level.
Bruno served as commissioner of the Division I Atlantic 10 Conference for 14 years. During her tenure, she strengthened the Atlantic 10's membership with the additions of Charlotte, Dayton, Fordham, La Salle, Richmond, and Saint Louis; negotiated two television contracts with ESPN - the most lucrative and extensive packages in league history; was among the first to sign a contract with College Sports Television; added women's rowing, men's and women's outdoor track & field, and women's lacrosse to the conference's championship slate; and created officiating bureaus for baseball, field hockey, men's and women's soccer and women's volleyball to better serve those Atlantic 10 programs.
Prior to joining the Atlantic 10, Bruno served as associate commissioner to Dave Gavitt during the Big East’s meteoric rise through the 1980s. She has also served as a consultant in intercollegiate athletics as well as an instructor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Bruno, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iona College, was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
|
|
NORA
LYNN FINCH – Atlantic
Coast Conference
Nora Lynn Finch joined the Atlantic Coast Conference as Associate
Commissioner and SWA in 2008 after spending 31 years at NC State
University. She has long been active in the national development
of intercollegiate women’s basketball, and in 1981 she was named
the chair of the inaugural NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball
Committee, serving in that capacity until 1988. Her NCAA service
record includes membership on the Division I Management Council
and Division I Membership Committee, Women’s Basketball Rules
Committee, Student-Athlete Welfare, Access and Equity Committee,
Risk Management and Insurance Task Force, and the Playing-Rules
Oversight Panel. Additionally, since 1988, Finch has represented
the NCAA on the United States University International Sports
Federation. She has been active in community service and currently
serves as a board member for “Pretty in Pink” and is a lifetime
appointee to the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation Board of Directors. |
|
JUDITH
HENRY – Texas Tech
University
Since 1997, Judith Henry, Ed.D., has dedicated her career to enhancing
the lives of student-athletes as the Senior Associate Athletic
Director/Senior Woman Administrator for the Department of Intercollegiate
Athletics at Texas Tech University. Her history with Texas Tech
and its students is a long one. She earned three academic degrees
from the institution. Dr. Henry joined the university staff in
1980 in the Department of Student Affairs, ultimately serving
as Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs.
Since joining the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, she
has served on several NCAA and Big 12 committees and is currently
a member of the NCAA Division I Awards, Benefits, Expenses and
Financial Aid Cabinet. |
|
PETRINA
LONG – University
of California, Los Angeles
Petrina Long is in her 33rd year in intercollegiate athletics
and her seventh year as senior associate athletic director/senior
women's administrator at UCLA. Long has oversight responsibility
for several sports at UCLA, as well as several administrative
areas. She currently serves as chair of the new NCAA Recruiting
Cabinet after serving for three years as chair of the NCAA Academics
and Eligibility Cabinet (AEC) Subcommittee on Recruiting. Long
and her husband, Sam McCamey, have a daughter, Samantha, and two
sons, Monte and Traland. |
|
JODY
MOORADIAN – Boston
College
Jody Mooradian has served as the Sr. Associate Athletic Director,
Senior Woman Administrator at Boston College for the past eight
years. Prior to this position she held the same position at Northeastern
University. She was the Director of Athletics at Edinboro University.
Prior to a career in athletics, Mooradian practiced law, primarily
in the area of defense litigation. Mooradian is active on many
national committees and has served as the chair of the Division
I Women’s Rowing Committee, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Committee,
Board Member of NACDA, Board of the ECAC, ACC Women’s Basketball,
Volleyball and Field Hockey Committees and chairs The Collegiate
Women Sports Awards, Chairing the Inspiration Award Sub Committee.
Mooradian is also an adjunct Professor at Drexel University. |
|
MONIQUE
A.J. SMITH – Central
Intercollegiate
Athletic Association
Monique A. J. Smith, known to most as Toni, is the Associate
Commissioner / Senior Woman Administrator and Director for Spring
and Fall Championships for the Central Intercollegiate Athletic
Association. Her direct report is public relations. As Associate
Commissioner, she is a member of the management team that oversees
one of the largest basketball tournaments in the nation. The tournament
showcases the CIAA’s 13 member institutions in a week full of
activities to approximately 180,000 fans and generates $1.9 million
dollars towards its member institutions’ general scholarship fund.
On the national level, Smith
has served on three national committees: the NCAA Division II
Football Issues Task Force, which expanded the football playoff
bracket; the NCAA Division II Championships Committee that oversees
all Championships in Division II; and the NCAA Woman of the Year
selection committee, which she chaired. Currently, she is a member
of the Division II Membership Committee anda board member of the
NCAA Student-Athlete Affairs Advisory. She is a past board member
of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators
(NACWAA), where she served as chair of the Awards Committee. The
same organization honored her in 2002 with the Nell Jackson Award
for her administrative efforts in advancing minorities. Toni holds
a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampton University in Mass Media
Arts and a Master of Science degree in Sports Management from
Old Dominion University. She is a native of Waverly, Virginia,
and currently resides in Hampton, Virginia. |
|
M.
DIANNE MURPHY – Columbia
University
Now beginning her seventh full year as Director of Intercollegiate
Athletics and Physical Education, Dianne Murphy has presided over
one of the most successful periods in Columbia University Athletics
history. Murphy came to Columbia after six years as Director of
Athletics and Recreation at the University of Denver, where she
led the Pioneers' program from NCAA Division II to one of the
nation's top Division I athletics programs. Under Murphy's leadership,
eight Denver sport programs made NCAA tournament appearances and,
on four occasions, Denver teams won a national title. Murphy was
named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Administrator
of the Year in 2004. She chaired the NCAA Division I Basketball
Issues Committee from 2002 to 2004 and currently is a newly-appointed
member of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee. She
also served on the NCAA Certification and Diversity Committee. |
|
LOLITA
LOPEZ – WPIX-TV,
NYC
Lolita Lopez is a Sports Anchor/News Reporter at WPIX-TV, the
CW affiliate in New York City. She has worked alongside the likes
of Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver and has interviewed sports
figures from Yankees third baseman Derek Jeter to NY Jets owner
Woody Johnson. Lopez is a graduate of Harvard University (BA,
Government '98) where she was a two-sport athlete. She captained
the volleyball team her final two years and also participated
in track & field. Her love of sports began at an early age
as she ran around the track in her "Punky Brewster"
shoes while her father, Victor Lopez, coached the Rice University
Women's track & field team. Lopez lives in New York with her
husband and young daughter. |
|
CAROL
STIFF – ESPN
Carol Stiff, vice president, programming & acquisitions at
ESPN, has worked for the network since 1990 in a variety of roles.
She is currently involved in the programming acquisition and scheduling
for a variety of sports, including NCAA women’s basketball, NCAA
championships (the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, Frozen
Four, College World Series and Women’s College World Series),
WNBA, professional softball and more. Stiff is a resident of Farmington,
CT, and has two children. |
|
JOAN
CRONAN – University
of Tennessee
Joan Cronan has been a leader in collegiate athletics for almost
four decades. She has served as the Director of Athletics at the
University of Tennessee since 1983 and has developed the Lady
Volunteers into one of the most positive and recognizable brands
in intercollegiate athletics. Cronan currently serves on the 2010
NCAA Division I Leadership Council and previously was selected
by her peers as the president of the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of athletics (NACDA) in 2008-09 and president of the
National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators
(NACWAA) in 2007-08. Additionally, Cronan has served on the NCAA’s
Executive Committee, Management Council, as well as the NCAA’s
Council, and is a member of the NCAA Championship Cabinet. She
also has been a member of the Southeastern Conference Executive
Committee. Cronan makes her home in Knoxville and is the mother
of Kristi (Mrs. Rhett Benner) and Stacey (Mrs. Kent Bristow),
both 1994 graduates of UT. She is the proud grandmother to three
grandsons, Chase and Reed Bristow, and Quinn Benner; and two granddaughters,
Reese Lauren Benner and Larkin Ann Bristow. She lost her husband
Tom, in August 2006, after his valiant battle with pancreatic
cancer. |
|
PATTI PHILLIPS
– NACWAA
Patti Phillips became the Executive Director of the National Association
of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators
(NACWAA) on April 1, 2010, and was named Chief Operating Officer
on October 12, 2010. Prior to assuming this position, Patti was
the executive director of the Women’s Intersport Network, based
in Kansas City. WIN for KC is a nonprofit dedicated to leadership
development in girls and women through participation in athletics.
In addition, Patti was a color analyst for ESPN, FOX Sports Midwest,
Sooner Sports and Metro Sports television broadcasts of collegiate
women’s basketball and volleyball games. Earlier
in her career, Patti worked for the NCAA as the CHAMPS/Life Skills
Program Coordinator, where her primary duties included planning,
organizing, and implementing three national conferences per year.
She was involved in leadership training, programming, and curriculum
writing for the Life Skills program. Prior to that, she was the
head women’s basketball coach at Ottawa University in Ottawa,
KS. Patti received her degree with honors from Baker University
and earned her Master’s in Athletic Administration and Sport Psychology
from the University of Kansas. |
|
DR.
JONI COMSTOCK – NCAA
Dr. Joni Comstock joined the NCAA national
office as senior vice president of championships and senior woman
administrator in September 2006. Her duties include oversight
of 84 NCAA championships, statistics, playing rules administration,
media coordination efforts and serving as a member of the president’s
senior management group. Comstock
brings extensive collegiate athletics leadership experience. She
served for six years as a Division I director of athletics, three
years at American University, Washington, D.C., and three years
at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Joni served in
various capacities, such as compliance, academic services, internal
operations and event management in the athletics departments of
Purdue University (11 years) and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
(6 years).Dr. Comstock received a bachelor’s degree in health
and physical education at Eastern Illinois University and a master’s
degree in education and sports management from Illinois State
University. In 1987 she earned a doctorate in administration of
higher education from the University of Illinois, Champaign. |
|
JUDITH
M. SWEET – NCAA
Judy Sweet currently serves as Co-Director of the newly established
Alliance of Women Coaches and is a consultant for Title IX and
gender equity initiatives. Previously she was NCAA Senior Vice
President for Championships and Education Services, and prior
to that Judy served as Director of Athletics at the University
of California, San Diego for 24 years. She has extensive service
on NCAA committees, including serving as NCAA President from 1991-93
and president of the National Association of Collegiate Women
Athletics Administrators in 2001. Judy has received many awards
including The 1998 Honda Award for Outstanding Achievement in
Women's Collegiate Athletics. In 2006 she was listed among the
NCAA’s Centennial Anniversary 100 Most Influential Student-Athletes
and received the NACDA James J. Corbett Memorial Award, which
is presented annually to the collegiate administrator who "through
the years has most typified Corbett's devotion to intercollegiate
athletics and worked unceasingly for its betterment." In
2006 Judy was named the first NACWAA Legacy Honoree and in 2007
she was named by the Institute for International Sport as one
of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America. In 2009,
she was inducted into the State of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of
Fame. |
|
DR.
CAROL A. CARTWRIGHT – President,
Bowling Green
State University
Dr. Carol A. Cartwright was named the 10th President of Bowling
Green State University in January 2009, after serving as interim
since July 2008. Prior to her appointment at BGSU, she was the
10th president of Kent State University and the first woman president
of a state university in Ohio. Dr. Cartwright served on the NCAA
Board of Directors from 1997-2005 and chaired the NCAA Executive
Committee from 2002-2005. She currently serves on the board of
directors of National Public Radio, and is a member of the Knight
Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the ACE Commission
on International Initiatives. Among many honors, she was named
to the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Kent
State Athletics Hall of Fame. |
|
DR.
JOSEPH CROWLEY –
University of Nevada, Reno
Dr. Joseph Crowley, a CWSA board member since 1996, served as
president of the University of Nevada, Reno, for more than 23
years. He was active in the NCAA for two decades by serving on
the Council, Presidents Commission, as a member and chair of many
committees and as the Association’s president for a two year term
(1993-95). He is the author of the NCAA’s centennial history and
is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Consortium
for Academics and Sports. He and his wife Joy live in Reno, as
do their four children and seven grandchildren. Now that he's
retired, he writes poetry in his free time. |
 |
STEVE
MORIKAWA – Assistant
Vice President, Corporate Community Relations, American Honda Motor
Co., Inc.
Steve Morikawa has been with Honda since 1978 and oversees the company’s
philanthropic and community relations programs and corporate image
partnerships. In keeping with the company’s strong commitment to
the advancement of women’s sports and to giving back to the communities
in which it does business, Honda has sponsored The Collegiate Women
Sports Awards Program for the past 26 years, and over the course
of the program, has donated over $2 million in grants and sponsorships
to universities. As a company, all Honda activities stem from a
corporate philosophy built on the basic principle of respect for
the individual and sharing joy with its customers, associates and
society. This unique perspective inspires American Honda to be involved
in a broad range of initiatives focused on youth, education, the
arts and science and technology, proactively contributing to communities
through corporate contributions, associate volunteerism and foundation
grants benefiting a diverse range of organizations, including support
of Special Olympics Southern California, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
and the National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM), among others.
American Honda’s activities also include sponsorship of the NHL’s
Anaheim Ducks, whose home arena is the Honda Center, and the Honda
LA Marathon. The company has also been title sponsor of the Honda
Classic PGA golf tournament since 1982. Mr. Morikawa resides in
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. |
 |
CRISTINA
TEUSCHER – Yale University
(Former Honda-Broderick Cup Winner)
Cristina Teuscher, a CWSA board member since 2010, is currently
head women’s swim coach at Yale University. Cristina competed for
8 years on the USA National Swim Team, representing the USA in the
1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and winning a Gold and Bronze medal,
respectively. During her collegiate career at Columbia University,
Cristina never lost an individual race, including 4 NCAA titles.
In 2000, Cristina was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup. After working
in finance, non-profit and education and receiving her MBA from
INSEAD in 2007, Cristina is thrilled to be back in the sports arena
working with young women and helping them develop. |
|
CHRIS
VOELZ – Women's
Sports Foundation
Chris Voelz served as Athletics Director for the University of
Minnesota, Twin Cities for 15 years after having served as Sr.
Associate, Assistant Athletics Director and Head Volleyball Coach
at the University of Oregon for 10 years. Since 2002 Chris has
served as the Leadership Gifts Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation,
a non-profit started by tennis and social-activist icon, Billie
Jean King. Chris is a former president of NACWAA and AVCA. She
is the recipient of numerous awards and has been inducted into
two university halls of fame. Chris is an avid spectator of college
sports and loves to travel. |
|
JUDITH
R. HOLLAND – Executive
Director
With over 40 years of progressive, comprehensive experience as
an innovative leader in intercollegiate athletics, Judie now serves
as Executive Director for The Collegiate Women Sports Awards.
She started the awards program in 1976 with the partnership of
The Broderick Company and Irv Grossman. Judie has a Ph.D. from
the University of Southern California and a Masters degree from
Sacramento State University. She served as the Director of Women’s
Athletics at UCLA from 1975 – 1980. In 1980 she was appointed
Senior Associate Director of the combined men’s and women’s athletics
program at UCLA. She retired from UCLA athletics in 1995 but continued
her work at UCLA as Executive Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor
of Student Affairs at UCLA until 2006, when she officially retired
from UCLA. As a resident of Culver City, CA, she volunteers for
several programs for the needy and homeless. |
