ATLANTA (Oct. 21, 2021) — Courtney Banghart, head women’s basketball coach at the University of North Carolina, is the new vice president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, the organization announced today. The WBCA also announced several new additions to the organization’s board of directors for the 2021-22 membership year.
Banghart will succeed UCLA head coach Cori Close as the WBCA’s president in July 2023. Banghart previously served on the board as the NCAA Division I East Director and most recently the NCAA Division I Director at Large. Close succeeded University of Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop as WBCA president on July 1 after serving two years as vice president. Cullop will complete her service on the board for the next two years as immediate past president.
“Courtney Banghart has served the WBCA membership as a board member since 2015 and has been very involved in the decision-making processes for women’s basketball at the highest level for years,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “She served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and the oversight committee’s Ad Hoc Working Group on Recruiting, which gave us the current Division I recruiting calendar. More recently she served on the WBCA’s executive committee, legislative working group, and stewardship working group.”
“No one has a better grasp of the challenges facing and opportunities awaiting our association and our sport than Courtney. I look forward to working with her for the next two years as our vice president and then for the following two years as our president.”
The new board members are:
- Jose Fernandez, head coach, University of South Florida, appointed by the board to succeed Banghart as NCAA Division I Director at Large.
- Meagan Price, head coach, Tusculum University, appointed by the executive committee to replace Samantha Quigley Smith as NCAA Division II Group I Director. Smith, formerly head coach at Lewis University, resigned her position on the board upon accepting the head coach position at Division I Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
- Jessica Turner, head coach, Skidmore College, appointed by the executive committee to replace Adrienne Shibles as NCAA Division III Group I Director. Shibles, formerly head coach at Bowdoin College, resigned her position on the board upon accepting the head coach position at Division I Dartmouth College.
- Michelle Edwards, assistant coach, Rutgers University, appointed by the executive committee to replace Clarisse Garcia as Assistant Coach Director. Garcia, formerly assistant coach at Auburn University, resigned her position on the board upon accepting the head coach position at Charleston Southern University.
- Debbie Spander, CEO, Insight Sports Advisors, appointed by the board to replace Trish Jones as one of two public sector directors. Jones was term limited and could not be reappointed to the position.
Re-elected without opposition to second terms of service on the board are:
- Raegan Pebley, head coach, Texas Christian University, as NCAA Division I Group III Director.
- Brian Morehouse, head coach, Hope College, as NCAA Division III Group II Director.
- Chris Nelson, head coach, Bethel University (Tennessee) as NAIA Director.
Jenn Strawley, deputy director of athletics/chief operating officer, University of Miami, also was reappointed by the board to a second term of service as Athletics Administrator Director.
The WBCA Board of Directors determines association policy, provides guidelines for the entire program sponsored by the WBCA, and employs an executive director and staff to administer the programs of the WBCA. It is composed of member coaches elected by their peers from each of the six membership divisions, athletic administrators supportive of women’s basketball, and professionals from the public sector who lend their expertise in areas such as finance, media, marketing and law. The board meets three times annually. For a complete list of WBCA board members for the 2021-22 membership year, click here.
About the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
For 40 years, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association has been the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, 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 those 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.
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