2011 - 2012 CWSA Board of Directors

* Click on the names for bio information.


EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jean Lenti Ponsetto, Chair

DePaul University

Carolyn Schlie Femovich
Patriot League

Patty Viverito
Missouri Valley Conference


DISTRICT AND DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Linda M. Bruno
Skyline Conference

Nora Lynn Finch

Atlantic Coast Conference

Judith Henry
Texas Tech University

Petrina Long
University of California, Los Angeles

Jody Mooradian
Boston College

Monique A.J. Smith
Central Intercollegiate
Athletic Association

M. Dianne Murphy
Columbia University


MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

Lolita Lopez
WPIX-TV, NYC

Carol Stiff
ESPN


NACDA REPRESENTATIVE

Joan Cronan
University of Tennessee

NACWAA REPRESENTATIVE

Patti Phillips
NACWAA


NCAA REPRESENTATIVES


Joni Comstock
NCAA

Judith M. Sweet
NCAA


PRESIDENTIAL REPRESENTATIVES

Dr. Carol A. Cartwright
Bowling Green State University

Dr. Joseph Crowley
University of Nevada, Reno


SPONSOR REPRESENTATIVE

Steve Morikawa
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.


STUDENT-ATHLETE REPRESENTATIVE


Cristina Teuscher
Yale University
Former Cup Winner



WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION REPRESENTATIVE

Chris Voelz
Women’s Sports Foundation



EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Judith R. Holland
(310) 641-0180



Board Member Bios:


JEAN LENTI PONSETTODePaul 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. BrunoSkyline 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 FINCHAtlantic 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 MOORADIANBoston 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. SMITHCentral 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 MURPHYColumbia 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 PHILLIPSNACWAA

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 COMSTOCKNCAA

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. SWEETNCAA

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. CARTWRIGHTPresident, 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 MORIKAWAAssistant 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. HOLLANDExecutive 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.