Class of 2021

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Carol Stiff

  • Carol Stiff has worked at ESPN for 30+ years, and currently serves as ESPN Vice President of Women’s Sports Programming & Acquisitions. She oversaw the acquisition and scheduling of a variety of sports on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, including NCAA women’s basketball, NCAA championships—the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, College Football Championship Series, College World Series, Women’s College World Series, lacrosse—WNBA, professional softball and more.
  • As vice president, women’s sports programming, Stiff leads the company’s efforts in NCAA women’s basketball and the WNBA, as well as integrating women’s sports content across all ESPN platforms.
  • She helped creat the Jimmy V Week and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund resulting in over $5 million in donations over the course of eight years.
  • When she paired UCONN and Tennessee in a featured matchup, she developed the most storied rivalry in college basketball.
  • During her time with ESPN, she has created a number of original video franchises such as “In the Game” with Robin Roberts, Big Monday, Smack Talk, and Voices of the Future.
  • She served as head women’s basketball coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1985-1988 and as assistant women’s basketball coach at Brown University from 1988-1989.
  • In 2011 she won the WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Award for displaying her commitment to women’s basketball and to advancing the role of the media in the women’s game.
  • Carol Stiff was named a WISE Woman of the Year in 2013, which honors woman who have made a significant impact on the business of sports.
  • In 2014, she was honored as one of Business Insider’s 50 Most Influential People Behind the Scenes in Sports.
  • She has served on a number of key professional groups including the Women’s Sport Foundation, the USA Women’s Basketball Standing Committee, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Screening Committee, Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards, Pat Summitt Advisory Committee, and currently serves as Vice President of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame National Board of Directors.

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David Stern

  • He was the National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner from 1984 to 2014 and was the main driving force in launching the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 1997.
  • 2013 recipient of the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, awarded by Harvard University in recognition of contributions to African and African-American culture.
  • Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014, the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2014, and the International Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
  • He served on the boards of the Rutgers University Foundation, the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, the NAACP, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Paley Center for Media and Jazz at the Lincoln Center as well as being the chair emeritus of the Trustees of Columbia University.
  • Under him, seven new franchises were added to the NBA, including Miami Heat, the Charlotte Hornets and Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies.
  • He created a weekend around the All-Star game, including the implementation of the Slam Dunk contest in 1984, the 3-point contest in 1986, the Rookie Game in 1994 and the Skills Contest in 2003.
  •  In 1993, he implemented the Salary Cap in the NBA, allowing athletes partnership in the league and limiting the control of big market teams.
  • He put together the 1992 Dream Team that won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona

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Lauren Jackson

  • Jackson studied at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Macquarie University, and University of Canberra.
  • #1 overall pick in the WNBA draft by the Storm (2001)
  • 2x WNBA Champion with the Seattle Storm (2004, 2010)
  • She won the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (2010)
  • Jackson was selected as a 7x WNBA All Star (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) and a 7x All-WNBA First Team member (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010)
  • She ranks among the top WNBA players in played games, minutes, field goals, three-point shots, and turnover percentage.
  • From Albury, Australia, Jackson represented her country and won 3 Olympic Silver Medals (2000, 2004, 2008) and 2 Olympic Bronze Medals (2012, 2024)
  • 7x WNBL Champion (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2010, 2024) and was 4x WNBL Grand Final MVP (2002, 2003, 2006, 2010)
  • Jackson won 3 EuroLeague Championships (2008, 2009, 2012) and was named a 2x  EuroLeague All Star
  • Jackson won a World Championship Gold (2006) and won two World Championship Bronze (1998, 2002)

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Sue Donohoe

  • Vice President of NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball (2003-2011). She directed the operational and strategic oversight for Division I women’s basketball and the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.
  • Graduate Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Louisiana Tech University, where she helped them win the NCAA National Championship (1982)
  • Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Stephen F. Austin State University and then at the University of Arkansas (1991, 1992, 1993)
  • Assistant Commissioner of the Southland Conference (1996, 1997, 1998) and then transitioned to the Associate Commissioner of the Conference.
  • Donohoe was the Executive Director of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
  • Spearheaded an effort for people to better understand the NCAA selection process through creating a mock selection weekend, which involved media, administration, and former coaches (2008)
  • Named by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Top 10 Most Powerful People in College Sports.” (2008)
  • U.S. Basketball Writer’s Mary Joe Haverbeck Award for commitment and service to women’s college basketball (2015)
  • First woman to receive the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Awarded presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2017)
  • Currently, she is a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Directors member and has served as vice president, president, past president, and screening committee chair.

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Tamika Catchings

  • Played for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers (1997, 1998, 1999,2000, 2001)
  • 4x All-American and helped the Volunteers win the 1998 NCAA National Championship.
  • WBCA Player of the Year, the Naismith College Player of the Year, AP Player of the Year, and the USBWA Women’s National Player of the Year (2000)
  • #3 pick in the WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever (2001)
  • WNBA Champion and named as the Finals MVP (2012)
  • 7x All-WNBA First Team (2002,2003, 2005-2007, 2009, 2011, 2013-2015) and a 5x All-WNBA Second Team (2004, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015)
  • A 5x WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012) as well as a 10x WNBA All-Defensive Team member (2005-2013, 2015) and a 2x member of the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team (2014, 2016)
  • Named one of the Top 15 Players in WNBA History (2011)
  • 3x Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award winner (2010, 2013, and 2016)
  • Catchings competed in three World Championships winning gold twice and bronze once. She was also a member of the USA Basketball Olympic Team where she won four gold medals from 2004 to 2016.

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Swin Cash

  • Played for the University of Connecticut (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002)
  •  2x NCAA National Championship winner (2000, 2002), while being named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player (2002)
  • WBCA Coaches All-American, AP Second Team All-American, USBWA First Team All-American, and All Big East First Team (2002)
  • #2 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft and went on to play until 2016.
  • 3x WNBA Champion, two with the Detroit Shock (2003, 2006), and one with the Seattle Storm (2010)
  • 4x WNBA All-Star (2003, 2005, 2009, 2011)
  • Swin was named WNBA Top 20 @ 20 (2016)
  • 2x Olympic Gold Medalist for USA Basketball in Athens (2004) and in London (2012)
  • Founder of Cash Building Blocks, which is an urban development company that renovates and offers affordable homes for low-income families. She is also the founder of Cash for Kids.
  • Cash currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Operations & Team Development for the New Orleans Pelicans.

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Carol Callan

  • Callan has served as the USA Basketball Women’s National Director since October 1996.
  • Prior to coming to USA Basketball, she spent 10 year (1986-1995) as the director of athletics/activities and two years as an assistant principal for Fairview High School in Boulder, Colorado.
  • She is responsible for the women’s teams’ programs, including competitions, trials, training camps, and working as a liaison to women’s competition committees.
  • Callan currently serves on the National Team Steering Committee as the chair, the National Team Player Selection Committee, and the Developmental National Team Committee as a non-voting chair.
  • Won the 2015 Williams Woods University Alumni Award of Distinction.
  • She has directed seven straight Olympic Games gold medal-winning teams from 1996 to 2020 and five of the last six World Championships since 1998 to 2018.
  • Honored, along with the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team, as a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Trailblazer.
  • She volunteered serving on the USA Basketball’s Executive Committee as secretary from 1992 to 1995.
  • On the WBCA Board of Directors, Callan has served as Screening Committee Chair, First Vice President, President, and Past President.

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Debbie Brock

  • Brock started at point guard all four years under Coach Margaret Wade at Delta State University.
  • 3x AIAW National Champion (1975, 1976, 1977)
  • At 4’11”, she scored 903 career points, connected on 277 of 335 free throws (82.7 percent), made 313 of 668 field goal attempts (46.9 percent), and she had 474 assists and 343 career rebounds.
  • Brock was one of 12 athletes selected to tape Fiesta Bowl-NCAA drug commercials (1976, 1977)
  • 4x Delta State’s Best Defensive Player (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978)
  • At the Women’s Final Four championship game in New Orleans, Brock was recognized by the NCAA as one of 12 AIAW great players along with former head coaches and administrators (2013)
  • 120-9 record with Delta State, her uniform number 22 was retired after her senior season, and she was inducted into the Delta State Sports Hall of Fame (1988)
  • During the AIAW semi-final game, she scored 17 points and had five steals which helped to overcome a 13-point deficit and advance to the Championship game (1976)
  • In the AIAW Championship game, Brock scored 22 points versus LSU and did not commit a single turnover (1977)
  • Brock was a member of both the Hanes All-American Classic in Greensboro, NC and the Women’s All-American Classic in Philadelphia, PA. (1978)

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