Class of 2021 – Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

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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 is a 2-time WNBA Champion with the Seattle Storm in 2004 and 2010.
She was drafted as the number one pick in the 2001 WNBA draft by the Storm.
From Albury, Australia, Jackson represented her country and won 3 Olympic Silver Medals and 1 Olympic Bronze Medal.
Jackson studied at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Macquarie University, and University of Canberra.
Won four WNBL Champion and was named four times as the WNBL Grand Final MVP.
She ranks among the top WNBA players in played games and minutes, field goals and three-point shots, and turnover percentage.
Jackson won 3 EuroLeague Championships and was named a 2-time EuroLeague All Star.
She won the WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2010.
Jackson was selected as a 7-time WNBA All Star and a 7-time All-WNBA First Team member.
Jackson won a World Championship Gold in 2006 and won two World Championship Bronze in 1998 and 2002.

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Sue Donohoe

Donohoe was the Vice President of NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball from 2003 to 2011. She directed the operational and strategic oversight for Division I women’s basketball and the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.
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.
She began her career as a Graduate Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Louisiana Tech University, where she helped them win the 1982 NCAA National Championship.
Her coaching career continued as she became the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Stephen F. Austin State University and then at the University of Arkansas.
She was the Assistant Commissioner of the Southland Conference from 1996 to 1998 and then transitioned to the Associate Commissioner of the Conference.
Donohoe was the Executive Director of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund from 2011 to 2015.
In 2008, she 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.
Named by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Top 10 Most Powerful People in College Sports.”
Donohoe was the first woman to receive the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Awarded presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
In 2015, she was awarded the U.S. Basketball Writer’s Mary Joe Haverbeck Award for commitment and service to women’s college basketball.

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Tamika Catchings

Catchings player for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers from 1997 to 2001
She was named a four-time All-American and helped the Volunteers win the 1998 NCAA National Championship.
In 2000, Catchings won 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.
She was drafted as the #3 pick in the 2001 WNBA draft to the Indiana Fever.
Spending her career with the Indiana Fever, Catchings won the WNBA Championship in 2012, being named as the Finals MVP.
Catchings was a 7-time All-WNBA First Team and a 5-time All-WNBA Second Team.
A 5-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year as well as a 10-time WNBA All-Defensive Team member and a 2-time member of the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team.
In 2011, Catchings was named one of the Top 15 Players in WNBA History.
She is a 3-time Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award winner in 2010, 2013, and 2016.
Catchings competed in three World Championships winning gold twice and bronze once as well as being a member of the USA Basketball Olympic Team where she won four gold medals from 2004 to 2016.

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Swin Cash

Cash currently serves as the Vice President of Basketball Operations & Team Development for the New Orleans Pelicans
From 1998 to 2002, Cash was a player with the University of Connecticut and helped the team to win two NCAA National Championships in 2000 and 2002, while being named the 2002 Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
During the 2002 season, Cash was selected as a WBCA Coaches All-American, AP Second Team All-American, USBWA First Team All-American, and All Big East First Team.
She was selected as the second overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft and went on to play until 2016.
Cash won three WNBA Championships, two with the Detroit Shock in 2003 and 2006, and one with the Seattle Storm in 2010.
She was selected as a four-time WNBA All-Star in 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2011.
In 2016, Swin was named WNBA Top 20 @ 20.
Won two Olympic Gold Medals for USA Basketball in Athens in 2004 and in London in 2012.
Off the court, Cash is the 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.

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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.
She was a three-time AIAW National Champion from 1975 to 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 for 1976-77.
She served as the Delta State’s Best Defensive Player all four years of her college career from 1975 to 1978
At the 2013 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.
Leading a 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 in 1988.
During the 1976 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.
In the 1977 AIAW Championship game, Brock scored 22 points versus LSU and did not commit a single turnover.
Brock was a member of both the 1978 Hanes All-American Classic in Greensboro, NC and the 1978 Women’s All-American Classic in Philadelphia, PA.

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