1981 The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) is formed on September 1. One hundred coaches attend the first Convention, held in 1982 at Virginia Beach in conjunction with the NCAA Tournament.
1981 Betty Jaynes is named as the Executive Director of the WBCA.
1981 The WBCA Board of Directors is developed consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Past President and representatives from eight regions.
1981 The first logo for the WBCA is created in November.
1981 The WBCA creates its first publication, Backboard Bulletin.
1982 Jill Hutchison becomes the first WBCA President, serving her presidency while coaching in the WNIT.
1982 The WBCA opens its office in Philadelphia, Penn., in April.
1983 Tennessee’s Pat Summitt is the first WBCA Coach of the Year and ODU’s Anne Donovan is the WBCA’s first Player of the Year for NCAA Division I.
1983 NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and Junior Colleges are added for the Kodak/WBCA All-America Teams.
1985 NCAA Division II and NAIA athletes are given separate awards for the Kodak/WBCA All-America Teams.
1986 The USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll debuts for NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
1986 The WBCA adds the High School and Assistant Coaches position on the Board of Directors.
1986 The WBCA moves their office from Philadelphia, Penn., to Atlanta, Ga., in June.
1987 The WBCA publishes it’s first issue of Coaching Women’s Basketball (CWB) magazine.
1987 Teresa Edwards, four-time Olympic gold medalist and former University of Georgia standout, becomes the first intern at the WBCA.
1990 In March, the WBCA purchases it’s office in Lilburn, Ga. and moves in.
1991 The second WBCA logo is in place in September.
1992 WBCA adds the Black Coaches Association and Male Coaches positions to the Board of Directors.
1992 The first WBCA High School All-America Game is held.
1993 The WBCA fiscal year is changed from July 1 through June 30 to September 1 through August 31.
1993 Jim Foster is named the first male WBCA President and becomes the first president to coach in the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four during his tenure.
1994 The WBCA adds the three legislative positions as well as the Committee on Basketball Issues position to the Board of Directors.
1994 The WBCA begins awarding the Coaches’ Trophy to the top-ranked Division I team in the final USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.
1995 The USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll adds NCAA Division II women’s basketball.
1996 The USA TODAY ESPN Top 25 Coaches’ Poll for NCAA Division III is added.
1996 Betty Jaynes is named Chief Executive Officer on September 1.
1996 The WBCA drops all of the district representatives and replaces them with four NCAA Division I positions, two NCAA Division II positions, two NCAA Division III positions, one NAIA position and one JC/CC position on the Board of Directors.
1997 Beth Bass is named Executive Director of the WBCA on January 1.
1998 The WBCA establishes their event management department.
1998 The first WBCA All-Star Challenge Game is held.
1998 The WBCA’s third logo is created. It stood until 2016.
1998 The WBCA presidential term is changed from one year to two with Carol Alfano acting as the first dual term WBCA President.
1998 The WBCA completes its office renovation in October.
2000 The WBCA receives rights to the Wade Trophy with NAGWS on June 20.
2000 Betty F. Jaynes announces retirement from the WBCA, but continues to serve as WBCA Consultant.
2000 The WBCA Conference Captains are established.
2000 WBIT is created to establish the WBCA website.
2001 The WBCA Internship Program was renamed the Betty F. Jaynes Internship Program in honor of retired CEO Betty F. Jaynes.
2001 Beth Bass is named Chief Executive Officer of the WBCA on November 1.
2003 The WBCA implements the “So You Want To Be A Coach” Program.
2003 The WBCA holds their first Lessons of the Legends in Atlanta at the 2003 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
2005 Four At-Large Division I positions are added to the WBCA Board of Directors.
2006 The WBCA hosts its last All-Star Challenge, the collegiate all-star matchup, as a part of the Night of All-Stars.
2007 The WBCA begins the WBCA Pink Zone initiative.
2007 The WBCA launches the first national women’s basketball podcast, “Shootaround with Beth & Debbie”, hosted by Beth Mowins and Debbie Antonelli.
2007 The WBCA announces its first charity of choice, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
2008 The WBCA adds Conference Commissioners Association position to the Board of Directors.
2009 The WBCA relaunches Coaching Women’s Basketball magazine.
2009 Fast Break, the WBCA’s new and improved e-newsletter, launches.
2009 The WBCA begins using social networking to reach coaches and fans of womens’ basketball.
2009 The WBCA revises the Compliance Corner for Division I, and implements a new high school legislative newsletter entitled Compliance Now.
2010 The WBCA implements an official Ethics Committee for women’s basketball.
2010 WBCA.org is reinvented, creating a one-stop shop for women’s basketball coaches and fans looking to gain education, networking opportunities, the latest women’s basketball news, career development and much more.
2013 The WBCA adopts its first-ever strategic plan, a blueprint for moving the Association forward in the years 2014-2018.
2014 Betty Jaynes passes away on Feb. 10.
2014 Beth Bass steps down as CEO on April 16; chief operating officer Shannon Reynolds serves as interim CEO while the board of directors searches for Bass’ successor.
2014 Danielle M. Donehew is named the WBCA’s third executive director on July 2.
2015 The WBCA membership adopts a comprehensive revision to Association Bylaws, which reconstitutes the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
2015 The Champion pictogram its retired from the WBCA logo but lives on in the form of The Champion statuette which is presented to all WBCA award recipients.
2016 The WBCA acquires full ownership of The Wade Trophy.
2016 A year-long branding study culminates with a complete rebrand of the Association, the launch of a totally new website and the unveiling of a new logo – the fourth in the WBCA’s history.
