Sport Tours Names WBI Advisory Committee
- 12/3/2009
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Hall of Famers. 600+ win coaches. Conference Coaches of the Year. 20+ year veterans. That is just a start to the list of coaching achievements on the resumes of the advisory committee for the Women's Basketball Invitational. Coaching legends Therese Grentz, Jill Hutchison, Joe Ciampi, Mary Hile-Nefpel and Caren Horstmeyer make up the five-person committe that will play a crucial role in selectiing and seeding the field in the inaugural postseason tournament.
"We are thrilled to have these five legends of women's basketball join us in creating and growing the WBI," Sport Tours International President Lee Frederick said. "Theresa, JIll, Joe, Mary and Caren all come from different backgrounds and parts of the country and they help bring instant credibility to our event."
Grentz is currently 10th all time on the NCAA win list with 671 victories and was the U.S. Olympic Women's Coach in 1992. A Women's Basketball Hall of Famer, Grentz was a National Collegiate Player of the Year before her long career on the sidelines at Rutgers and Illinois.
The third-winningest coach in Missouri Valley Conference/Gateway Conference history, Hutchison won 461 career games at Illinois State from 1970-1999. The first president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, Hutchison was named the MVC Coach of the Year three times while leading her Redbird squads to 12 post season appearances.
A three-time National Coach of the Year, Ciampi coached at ARMY from 1977-79 before moving on to an illustrious career at Auburn from 1979-2004. Ciampi led his teams to three Final Fours, 10 Sweet Sixteens and four Southeastern Conference Championships. Ciampi won 607 games as a Division I head coach and 28 games in the NCAA Tournament.
Hile Nepfel is the all-time winningest coach in San Francisco history with 261 career victories. A 23 year veteran of college coaching, Hile-Nepfel was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year twice while leading her squads to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The 2004 Pac 10 Conference Coach of the Year, Horstmeyer was a Bay Area head coach at Santa Clara from 1988-2000 before taking over at Cal-Berkeley from 2000-2005. Horstmeyer was a member of the USA Basketball/Olympic Selection Committee from 1992-1996 and led her teams to four conference titles and four NCAA Appearances.
The WBI is a 16-team postseason event set to begin in March of 2010. The tournament will take place on campus sites with higher seeded teams hosting each game through the Championship which is set for March 27 or 28.
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