ATLANTA (February 12, 2018) — Dru Hancock, the senior associate commissioner at the Big 12 Conference, is the 2018 WBCA Administrator of the Year, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association announced today.
The WBCA Administrator of the Year award is presented annually to an administrator, athletic director, associate or assistant athletic director, or senior woman administrator who has excelled at encouraging the growth and quality of women’s basketball programs and women’s athletic programs overall. The candidate also must have served as a professional role model for student-athletes.
"It is my pleasure to announce Dru Hancock as this year’s WBCA Administrator of the Year," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. "Dru has been a steadfast ally to the WBCA and the sport of women's basketball throughout her career. She is a product of our sport — a former women’s basketball student-athlete at Ohio State who has risen to the highest level of leadership in collegiate athletics.
“Her service throughout her career on campus, in the conference office, and within the highest levels of NCAA governance has been tremendous,” said Donehew. “Dru is a trusted teammate. She is very deserving of this year's Administrator of the Year award. We are incredibly thankful for Dru’s time and efforts to strengthen the WBCA and lift the sport of women’s basketball."
Hancock has served as Big 12 senior associate commissioner since February 2008. She oversees 14 league championships as well as the conference’s academics, governance and compliance departments. Hancock is the primary administrator for women’s basketball operations and administration while also serving as liaison to senior woman administrators at the conference’s 10 member institutions. The former Ohio State basketball player also oversees the Big 12’s partnership with Special Olympics. She currently serves on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee, after recently completing a five-year term on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.
Hancock was a four-year letter winner in basketball and twice lettered in tennis while she obtained her B.A. in speech communication and M.A. in journalism at Ohio State. She then served as an assistant sports information director (SID) at Minnesota for three years, before moving to Missouri in the same position for 13 years. Hancock was named the women’s associate athletics director at Tennessee in 1985. During her time at Tennessee, Hancock was the primary administrator for the 1990 NCAA Women’s Final Four. She moved to the academic side in June 1992 as acting associate dean of students. Hancock joined the Big 12 staff in 1994.
The WBCA Administrator of the Year award was first presented in 1985. Visit www.wbca.org/recognize/ to see a list of past recipients.
About the WBCA
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. The WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of a diverse community of coaches to the organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
###