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JEAN
LENTI PONSETTO – DePaul
University
Jean Lenti Ponsetto is the current CWSA Chairwoman of the Board and has been a member since 2000. She is in her 11th year as athletics director at DePaul University, and 38th year as a member of the athletics department staff at her alma mater. Ponsetto is regarded as one of the most widely respected leaders in the world of intercollegiate athletics, and at DePaul is credited with the significant expansion and development of a successful athletics program. Under her direction, DePaul has noted improvements in fundraising, facilities, student-athlete welfare and postseason participation, including a move to join the Big East Conference in 2005. Under Ponsetto, 14 of DePaul’s 15 athletics programs have qualified for NCAA championship competition and over 1,000 student-athletes have been named to conference academic honor rolls. Ponsetto has served in various leadership positions in service to the NCAA and various constituent groups. She was Chairwoman of the NCAA Div. I Women’s Basketball Committee, the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet, and the NCAA Basketball Officiating Committee. She was a member of the NCAA/USOC Joint Task Force. She is on the NACDA Executive Committee and was past president of their Div. I-AAA Athletics Directors Association. Ponsetto chairs the Wade Trophy Selection Committee, is a past president of NACWAA and serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the induction class of 2007, joining other sports legends Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, and Michael Jordan. Ponsetto was inducted to the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame honoring her collegiate career in tennis, volleyball, women’s basketball and softball. She and her husband, Joe, reside in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood near the DePaul campus. |
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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. |
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PATTY
VIVERITO – Missouri
Valley Conference
The only commissioner to govern the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Patty Viverito completed her 28th 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, including the CCA Executive Committee and Chair of the Div. I-AA Subcommittee of the CCA, the NCAA Recruiting Task Force, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Board, the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), the NCAA Football Academic Working Group and the NCAA Work/Life Balance Task Force. She is also a Board Member of NACDA, and is an executive committee member on the CWSA Board of Directors. Viverito was selected as the 1996 NACWAA Administrator of the Year. She has an extensive background in athletic marketing and administration, formerly serving as an account executive for the Tidewater Tides minor league baseball team, and as special project director at the University of Texas at Austin from 1979-1981, where she was involved in areas of promotion, sports information, fundraising and event management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois and her master’s degree in sports management from the Univ. of Massachusetts at Amherst. She received the 1994 Harold J. VanderZwaag Distinguished Alumnus Award from Massachusetts. Viverito is married to Frank Viverito, President and Executive Director of the St. Louis Sports Commission. The couple has two children, Gregory and Matthew. They live in St. Louis, Mo. |
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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PETRINA
LONG – University
of California, Los Angeles
Petrina Long is the Senior Associate Athletic Director/Senior Women’s Administrator at UCLA, and has a successful career in intercollegiate athletics since 1979. Long has oversight responsibility for several sports at UCLA including women’s basketball, volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. She also oversees several administrative areas, including, but not limited to, academic services, compliance, equity issues and governmental relations. Long serves as the Chair of the CWSA’s Awards Committee. She also serves on the new NCAA Recruiting Cabinet, after serving three years as chair of the NCAA Academics and Eligibility Cabinet (AEC) Subcommittee on Recruiting. NCAA Men’s Volleyball Committee, and is an administrative liaison to several sports including women’s volleyball, cross-country, track & field, and men’s soccer. She is a past-chair of the Senior Women’s Administrative Committee (SWAC) and is a current member of the Women’s Basketball Tournament Committee. Prior to joining UCLA Athletics, Long enjoyed a successful 11-year career with UC Irvine Athletics, 9-years at Columbia University, serving in both associate and assistant athletics director positions. She was the Assistant Athletics Director for Academic Affairs at Southern Methodist University from 1982-84, and was an advisor for student-athletes at the University of California, Berkeley (her alma mater) from 1979-82. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her master’s degree from Columbia University. She and her husband, Sam McCamey, have a daughter, Samantha, and two sons, Monte and Traland. |
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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. |
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M.
DIANNE MURPHY – Columbia
University
Now beginning her eight 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. |
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LOLITA
LOPEZ – NBC4, Los Angeles
Lolita Lopez is a General Assignment Reporter at NBC4 Los Angeles. She relocated to the Southern California media market in 2011 after a decade at WPIX-TV, the CW Television Network’s owned-and-operated station in New York, starting as a General Assignment Reporter in 2001 and also serving as Weekend Sports Anchor for six years. 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. Earlier in her career, Lopez was one of only two reporters on Court TV’s issue-oriented legal program “Pros and Cons” with Nancy Grace. Fluent in Spanish, Lopez’s reporting focused on immigration and border issues in South Texas and Mexico.
Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Lopez moved to Houston at age four when her father, Victor Lopez, became the women’s track coach at Rice University. A lifelong sports fan, Lopez graduated from Harvard University in 1998, where she had been on the university’s volleyball and track teams for four years. Lopez is married, has a child and is now living in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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 27 years, and over the course of the program, has donated over $2.5 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. |
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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. |
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Jeffrey Orleans – Alden & Associates
Jeffrey Orleans was Executive Director of the Council of Ivy Group Presidents (the Ivy League athletics conference) from 1984 to 2009, following nine years in the President’s Office of the University of North Carolina system and four years as a federal civil rights attorney. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School and a former CORO Foundation Fellow, he is presently a consultant to the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and provides strategic planning and gender equity advice to a number of colleges and conferences
Orleans’ career includes extensive experience with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, beginning with a major role in writing the original Title IX regulation, and in senior governance positions with the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the NCAA, including the NCAA’s initial Gender Equity Task Force.
As Director of the Ivy League, Orleans was responsible for the nation’s broadest women’s collegiate athletic program.
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CHRIS
VOELZ – Women's
Sports Foundation - Executive Director
Chris Voelz, an ambassador, steward and former Leadership Gifts Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation and a former athletics administrator at the University of Minnesota and University of Oregon, was named the executive director of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards, to succeed Dr. Judith Holland, a founding member of the CWSA and its first executive director. Voelz began her term as executive director on September 1, 2012 after serving on the Board of Directors since 2006. Voelz served as Athletics Director for the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities from 1988 to 2002, making her the longest-serving women’s athletics director at Minnesota, after having served as Sr. Associate, Assistant Athletics Director and Head Volleyball Coach at the University of Oregon for 10 years prior.
At Minnesota, Voelz was responsible for managing 12 women’s sports, a multi-million dollar women’s athletics budget, and a staff of more than 80 employees. Her period at Minnesota was marked with major academic achievements, athletic accomplishments, and an all-time high in department fundraising. Minnesota increased its number of women’s sports, scholarship opportunities, set record graduation rates, and hosted numerous NCAA and Big Ten Conference Championships under her leadership, in addition to quadrupling their fundraising efforts towards the endowment of 45 new scholarships and the development of 9 new athletic facilities.
Voelz was named among Minnesota’s 100 Most Important Sports Figures of the Century and has been recognized nationwide for her expertise on gender equity and Title IX. She served as president of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) from 1991 to 1992 and was one of the four authors who defined the key gender equity language eventually adopted by the NCAA as the official definition. She was president of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) from 1985 to 1986, and served on several NCAA committees, including the Gender Equity Task Force, and the volleyball and gymnastics committees. She served as a Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of Oregon and was the head coach of the women’s volleyball program from 1978 to 1987.
Through the years, Voelz has received many awards, including the National Association of Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS) Honor Award, and in 2011 received the NACWAA Lifetime Achievement Award, given annually to individuals who have rendered meritorious service, administrators and professionals who have dedicated their careers to advancing women in sport. She was inducted into both the Illinois State University and University of Minnesota Halls of Fame, and Fitness Magazine once recognized her as one of the top 10 influential people in women’s sport. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois.
After leaving Minnesota in 2002, Voelz served as the Leadership Gifts Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and still serves as an ambassador and steward of the organization. Voelz earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois. She competed in basketball, golf, volleyball, and softball at Illinois State.
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JUDITH
R. HOLLAND – Managing Director
Dr. Judith R. Holland was one of the three founders of what is now known as The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA), a program she championed in 1976 to recognize excellence in women’s collegiate athletics. The CWSA annually recognizes the outstanding athletic and academic achievement of female collegiate student-athletes in 12 Division I NCAA sports, as well as an overall honoree in Division II and III. Prior to serving as the CWSA’s first executive director, Dr. Holland enjoyed a very successful 30-year career with UCLA Athletics, notably serving as the first Director of Women’s Athletics from 1975 to 1980, then as UCLA’s Senior Associate Athletic Director before assuming the role of Executive Assistant and Chief Planning Officer for UCLA’s Office of Student Affairs, a position she held for ten years before her retirement from the university.
Dr. Holland supervised a period of significant growth and unprecedented success at UCLA, including 37 national championships under her leadership. With the passage of Title IX in 1972, Dr. Holland set a goal of raising the notoriety of the UCLA women’s athletics program equal to that of the men’s program. In creating a “blueprint for success,” she campaigned for crucial funding for uniforms, travel expenses and coaches’ salaries. She began the practice of offering collegiate scholarships for women’s athletics at the same level as the men’s to attract the best players. She gave her first athletic scholarship to eventual 1977-78 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, Ann Meyers-Drysdale, a 4-time All-American who is one of the most decorated student-athletes, male or female, in UCLA history and the only female to sign a National Basketball Association (NBA) contract.
In 1981, Dr. Holland, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and a Master’s Degree from Sacramento State University, supported the creation of the NCAA’s division for women to help improve recruitment, provide greater funding, and gain more recognition for women’s athletics nationwide. This was seen as a bold move for a woman who was formerly the president of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). She proposed that men’s and women’s athletics programs be joined together to promote true equality in a combined athletic department program. After demonstrating the success of her theory at UCLA as the Senior Associate Athletic Director of a combined program, many other collegiate athletic departments followed her lead, supporting Dr. Holland’s unprecedented model of a unified athletic department system. Throughout her career, Dr. Holland served in many capacities in collegiate athletics, including as Chairperson of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, NCAA Football television committee, and the NCAA Council. She has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career, and in 2012 received a Circle of Excellence Trailblazer Award from IOC Committee Member, Anita DeFrantz.
In her 36-years at the head of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards, Dr. Holland carefully guided its growth from the first awards presentation of the “Broderick Cup” in 1976 to Delta State University basketball player, Lucy Harris, to the nationally televised awards program on ESPNU that recognizes the “Best of the Best in Women’s Collegiate Athletics” including 12 Honda Sports Award winners, the best athletes in Division II and III, an Inspiration Award, and the winner of the coveted Honda Cup, presented to the most outstanding collegiate female athlete in the nation.
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