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PRESIDENTIAL DISPLAY
One of the perks of being a championship basketball team is making a visit to the White House. A new display at the Hall of Fame entitled "Hail to the Victors, Hail to the Chief" is a collection of photographs of various women's basketball teams whose championship season have culminated with a visit to the White House. The exhibit includes teams who have visited during the Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush administrations and was placed in the North Rotunda just in time for the excitement leading up to the 2000 presidential election.

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WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
OK, imagine you're in the "hot seat", and Regis Philbin asks you this question:

Who was the first female basketball player to sign a contract with an NBA team?

Would you know the answer, or would you use your "phone a friend lifeline" and call the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame?

Well, the research staff at the hit TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? called the Hall recently to check on the answer to that question. The choices for answers to the question were:

A. Rebecca Lobo
B. Cheryl Miller
C. Ann Meyers
D. Nancy Lieberman

Do you know?

Is that your final answer?

The correct answer is C — Ann Meyers. Actually, Meyers, a Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee in 1999, is not only the first but the only female basketball player who has ever signed a contract with the NBA. Meyers signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers in 1979.

WNBA ALL-STAR JERSEYS ADDED TO HALL OF FAME EXHIBITS
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed the first major addition to its collection of artifacts on display since the Hall's grand opening in June with a gift from the WNBA of a collection of jerseys from the league's inaugural all-star game this past summer.

WNBA President Val Ackerman was on hand in Knoxville on October 15 to make the formal presentation of 23 all-star jerseys to the Hall. The jerseys of Lisa Leslie, All-Star Game MVP, and Yolanda Griffith, named MVP for the 1999 WNBA season, are displayed in feature cases in the Hall's North Rotunda. The other 21 jerseys hover overhead from the rafters as part of the Hall's Ring of Honor. The Ring of Honor includes jerseys from players who were recognized as high school or collegiate All-Americans or state high school players of the year this past season as well as replica jerseys from the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame continues to attract attention in the media across the nation. The Hall has been featured in such basketball publications as G-Ball, Women's Basketball and Coaching Women's Basketball. The Hall of Fame also appeared in the November issue of Southern Living and was highlighted on the NBA's weekly television show, Inside Stuff, and the North Rotunda of the Hall of Fame (the "big ball" end of the Hall) appeared in the College Basketball Preview issue of Sports Illustrated as the background for a picture of University of Tennessee playmaker Tony Harris. Most recently, Gloria Ray, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame, was a halftime guest on Fox Sports Net South's broadcast of the Tennessee-Auburn game.

IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?
You might expect to see one of the nation's premier basketball players featured in some of the exhibits at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. You might even expect to see one of the nation's top hoop stars roaming the corridors of the Hall of Fame as a visitor herself. But you probably wouldn't expect to see one of the nation's best roundballers selling tickets for admission to the Hall of Fame or ringing up a souvenir sale in the Hall of Fame gift shop.

That explains why many Hall of Fame visitors do a double-take when they see Tennessee Lady Vol basketball standout Tamika Catchings' smiling face behind the ticket office window or the cash register in Trophies, the gift shop at the Hall.

After volunteering to help as a tour guide during the Hall of Fame's grand opening in June as part of a sports management class at UT, Catchings inquired about working at the Hall of Fame on a regular basis during the summer. A junior from Duncanville, Texas, Catchings is a three-time Kodak All-American and was just named Naismith Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club.

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YOU NEVER KNOW. . .
You never know just who you might bump into when you visit the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Although every guest at the Hall of Fame is special, a number of basketball and sports notables have visited the Hall of Fame in recent months:

Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz, along with his wife, DeDe, and his daughter, Michelle, an outstanding basketball player in her own right, who is a junior at nationally ranked Mason (Ohio) High School and has already verbally committed to Tennessee.
Sisters Martha Kelsey and Mary Rochelle, who played high school basketball with Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (better known as "Minnie Pearl"). Their 1927-1928 Hickman County team photo is on display in the Hall of Fame.
Doris Rogers, a seven-time AAU All-American in the 1960s at Nashville Business College, who along with her sister, Faye Rogers Stafford, helped put tiny Porter High School in neighboring Blount County on the basketball map by leading their team to the 1959 Tennessee State Championship.
Dr. Charlotte West, who was AIAW President in 1978-1979.
John Hassan, a senior editor for ESPN the Magazine.
The Holts — Linda, Rock, and Robert — as well as several members of the Butler High School team from Huntsville, Alabama, who have been featured in the Modern Locker Room exhibit.
Some future stars, such as prepsters Ashley Robinson, Chandi Jones, Courtney McDaniel and Wynter Whitley. (Don't worry — if you don't know the names now, you will.)
Ian Naismith, the grandson of Dr. James Naismith, who, of course, "invented" basketball by writing the original 13 rules for the game in 1891.
University of Kentucky Men's Basketball coach Tubby Smith.
University of Georgia women's basketball coach Andy Landers.

And then there have been the teams:

Louisiana Tech, North Carolina State, Rutgers and Tennessee — along with their respective coaches Leon Barmore, Kay Yow, C. Vivian Stringer and Pat Summitt — who visited the Hall of Fame and participated in autograph sessions at the Hall as part of activities surrounding the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic.
1999 NCAA national champion Purdue as well as UT-Martin, Texas, Old Dominion, Connecticut, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana State, Auburn, Arizona, Furman, and Kent, who all paid a visit to the Hall of Fame while in Knoxville to play at the University of Tennessee.
Cal Poly Pomona, who scheduled a cross-country trek to play at Carson-Newman, Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial primarily so the team could see the Hall of Fame, especially since former Pomona head coach Darlene May was one of the Hall's inaugural inductees.
USA Basketball's Women's Senior National Team. Along with Coach Nell Fortner, many of the players on that team will also be on the squad that will represent the USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

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PHOTOS

U.S. Senator Fred Thompson paid a visit to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame while he was in Knoxville on August 22. Thompson requested —and got— his own special personal tour guide for the occasion. Pat Summitt, a member of the Hall of Fame's inaugural induction class in 1999 and the immediate past president of the Hall's Board of Directors, added a special touch to the Senator's walkthrough of the Hall of Fame.

	Talk about a personal touch! University of Georgia basketball coach Andy Landers personally placed the ball commemorating his 500th win as the Lady Bulldogs head coach in a display at the Hall of Fame while visiting this spring.

Dawn Staley, a member of the USA's 1996 and 2000 Olympic Teams, visited the Hall of Fame when the U.S. National Team played at the University of Tennessee in November. After the Olympics, Staley will be returning to her native Philadelphia to serve as the head women's basketball coach at Temple University.

	Tiffany Palmer, who performed "The Dream" at the unveiling of the sculpture during last year's grand opening and whose recording of that song can be heard throughout the Hall's South Rotunda, reprised her performance at this year's induction ceremony.

The jerseys of some 100 high school and collegiate All-Americans and state high school players of the year have become an integral part of the North Rotunda at the Hall of Fame. A new group of players has earned its place in the Hall's "Ring of Honor" as the jerseys of players who have achieved All-American status in 2000 are now on display.

All-American Svetlana Abrosimova and her University of Connecticut teammates saw some familiar faces on the video screen in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's "Modern Locker Room" exhibit. The locker room exhibit includes video footage from Coach Geno Auriemma's pre-game talk to the Huskies before UCONN's game against Providence in 1999.

	Louisiana Tech mentor Leon Barmore caught a few glimpses of some Lady Techsters on the big screen of the "Big Finish Theater" while visiting the Hall of Fame during the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. Barmore is one of the coaches featured in the Hall's "Modern Locker Room."

Purdue head coach Kristy Curry checks out the Xs and Os on the Coach's Edge computer in the Modern Locker Room.

Teresa Edwards poses next to her Atlanta Glory jersey, which is on display at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Edwards was one of the ABL's founding players and was a player-coach with the league's Atlanta franchise.


More than 500 up-and-coming basketball players packed the South Rotunda of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame for the Opening Ceremony of the Junior Pro National Tournament in March. Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe was on hand to welcome these rising basketball stars.


Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2000 inductee Kay Yow, along with North Carolina State Senior Associate Athletic Director Nora Lynn Finch, her sister Susan Yow, and equipment manager Brenda Keene, seemed to enjoy watching the halftime talks in the Modern Locker Room, particularly the one featuring the University of North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell in the Tar Heels' game against Yow's NC State squad in 1999. No wonder-North Carolina State won, 79-71.

	The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame was one of the stops on the Tennessee Titans' caravan swing through the state this spring. A large contingent of Titan fans turned out to see quarterback Steve McNair and linebacker Jevon Kearse, pictured here.

	WNBA President Val Ackerman was on hand at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame to make a presentation of the jerseys from the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game held last summer. Ackerman is pictured here with the jersey of WNBA All-Star Game MVP Lisa Leslie as well as an autographed ball from the game.

Tennessee's Pat Summitt and Texas' Jody Conradt are the only women's collegiate basketball coaches to reach 700 victories, and their accomplishment is acknowledged with a special display at the Hall of Fame. Summitt and Conradt took time to autograph a basketball at the Hall of Fame before their game in Knoxville on December 30.

The Purdue Boilermakers, the 1999 NCAA Division I National Champions, visited the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame while in Knoxville to play at the University of Tennessee.

	Sisters Doris Rogers and Faye Rogers Stafford posed for a photo in the South Rotunda during their visit to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Sisters Mary Rochelle (left) and Martha Kelsey saw themselves at the Hall of Fame in a photograph of the 1927-1928 Hickman County High School basketball team that also includes Grand Ole Opry legend Minnie Pearl.

	Four-time Olympian Teresa Edwards' collection of medals is one of the most popular exhibits at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Edwards visited the Hall of Fame during USA Basketball's Women's Senior National Team's trip to Knoxville in November.

The Muñoz clan — (from right) Anthony, DeDe, and Michelle, along with Michelle's Mason High School teammate, Jere Issenmann, and Hall of Famer/Tennessee Lady Vol basketball coach Pat Summitt — took a break during a basketball camp at the University of Tennessee to visit the Hall of Fame.

A collection of jerseys from the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game have been added to the Ring of Honor in the Hall of Fame's North Rotunda. Altogether, the WNBA donated 23 jerseys from the game to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tamika Catchings visited with WNBA President Val Ackerman during Ackerman's visit to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in October.

	Bill Wall (left) and Lea Plarski (right) introduce Alline Banks Sprouse (center) during the State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic. Sprouse represented the Class of 2000 inductees during the announcement of the 24 honorees' names made at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

The 1999 State Farm Women's Tip-Off Classic featured four teams whose coaches rank among the greatest names in women's basketball. The quartet of C. Vivian Stringer (Rutgers), Pat Summitt (Tennessee), Kay Yow (North Carolina State) and Leon Barmore (Louisiana Tech) have combined for more than 2,300 victories during almost a century of coaching.

	Tubby Smith, the men's basketball coach at the University of Kentucky, visited the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame while the UK team was in Knoxville to play at the University of Tennessee. Smith is shown here standing next to the Sears Trophy, which is presented to the NCAA National Champion in both men's and women's basketball and is currently on display at the Hall of Fame. Smith knows about winning the Sears Trophy — he guided Kentucky to a national title in 1998.

Yolanda Griffith's Sacramento Monarchs' jersey is on display as part of the Hall of Fame's Players of the Year exhibit. Griffith was selected as the WNBA's MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in 1999.

	A special display at the Hall of Fame captures the excitement of "March Madness." The exhibit includes an NCAA Championship trophy and the jerseys of Final Four MVPs Sheryl Swoopes (1993) and Dawn Staley (1991) as well as an assortment of Final Four memorabilia.

Basketball teams from Arizona, Furman, and Kent Universities visited the Hall of Fame while they were in Knoxville to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the University of Tennessee. Members of the Kent team are shown here taking in a "halftime talk" in the Modern Locker Room exhibit at the Hall.

	In memory of Kim Perrot (Houston Comets) and Tiffany Young (Purdue University), championship basketball players who passed away last summer, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame has placed commemorative bricks in the Hall of Fame's courtyard. Shaped like a basketball, the courtyard, which is adjacent to the entrance of the Hall's South Rotunda, is composed of bricks that include various inscriptions. Basketball fans interested in purchasing a brick to be placed in the courtyard can call the Hall of Fame at 865.633.9000 for more information.

As USA Basketball's Player of the Year for 1999, Natalie Williams has both her jersey and her shoe in the Hall of Fame's "Players of the Year" exhibit. The display also recognizes WNBA MVP Yolanda Griffith as well as NCAA Division I Player of the Year Tamika Catchings and High School Player of the Year Shereka Wright.

Houston Comets' coach Van Chancellor found a new friend in 12-year-old Justin Bliss while he was at the Hall of Fame to autograph copies of his book, Nothin' But a Champion. The book chronicles Chancellor's journey from the high school ranks to his success at the helm of the Ole Miss Lady Rebel program to three consecutive WNBA Championships with the Houston Comets. Fans can order copies of Chancellor's book by calling the Hall of Fame at 865.633.9000.

Quick — whose jersey is this? Number 11 at West Virginia University was worn by none other than Georgeann Wells, who became the first female player to register a dunk in a collegiate basketball game in 1984. Wells' jersey is now on display at the Hall of Fame.

	The Sears Trophy, presented annually to the No. 1 team in the final USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 poll, is now on display at the Hall of Fame. The stunning handcrafted Waterford crystal basketball has been awarded to the NCAA Division I Women's National Champion since 1994.

A pair of basketball legends swap basketball tales at the Hall of Fame as basketball official Patty Broderick, also supervisor of officials for the Big Ten Conference, and Houston Comets coach Van Chancellor meet in Trophies, the gift shop at the Hall of Fame.