USA Basketball
What was the name of the employer Val Ackerman work for from 2005 to 2008?
Val Ackerman Valerie B . Ackerman ( born November 7 , 1959 in Lakewood Township , New Jersey ) is an American sports executive , former lawyer , and former basketball player . She is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference . She is best known for being the first president of the Womens National Basketball Association ( WNBA ) , serving from 1996 to 2005 . Ackerman was inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 . Early life . Ackerman was born in 1959 in Lakewood Township , New Jersey , but grew up in Pennington , New Jersey , United States . She was raised Roman Catholic . Her grandfather was director of athletics for Trenton State College , and her father was director of athletics at Ackermans own high school . Ackerman graduated in 1977 from Hopewell Valley Central High School in Hopewell Township , Mercer County , New Jersey . Ackermans 1466 points set the schools varsity basketball career record for points scored by any basketball player , male or female , and she set the schools career scoring record as a halfback in field hockey , topped off by graduating second in her class . In addition to basketball and field hockey , Ackerman also ran on her schools track team . She was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997 . College years . Ackerman was a 1979 student initiate of Omicron Delta Kappa from the University of Virginia , where she graduated in 1981 . She was among the schools first female students to receive an athletic scholarship . She was a starter all four years , captain three years , and twice named Academic All-American for the womens basketball team ; she was the schools first basketball player to score 1,000 points . She earned her B.A . in Political and Social Thought . In 1997 , Ackerman received U . Va.s Distinguished Alumna Award from the Universitys Womens Center . In 2003 , she was named a member of the Atlantic Coast Conferences 50th Anniversary Womens Basketball Team . Ackerman also earned a law degree from the University of California , Los Angeles ( UCLA ) , and worked for two years as a corporate and banking associate at the New York City law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett . Career . Ackerman played professional basketball in France for one season . In 1988 , she was hired as a staff attorney for the National Basketball Association and later served as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern , before being promoted to vice-president of business affairs , prior to her appointment to head the WNBA in 1996 . In 1989 , Ackerman was one of the NBAs first appointees to the Board of Directors of USA Basketball — the organization responsible for the selection and training of the teams that represent the United States in international tournaments , including both the World Cup and the Olympics . In that capacity , she acted as a liaison between the NBA and USA Basketball regarding the 1992 Olympics , 1994 World Championships and 1996 Olympics . From 1995 to 1996 , she was a driving force behind the creation of the USA Basketball Womens National Team program that culminated with a 60–0 record and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics . On August 7 , 1996 , Ackerman was named president of the WNBA . Over the course of her historic eight-year term , Ackerman would become the first woman ever to successfully launch and operate a womens team sports league . On February 1 , 2005 she stepped down , and Donna Orender was named as her successor ; Laurel Richie succeeded Orender in 2011 . In April 2005 , Ackerman was named to Sports Business Journals list of the 20 Most Influential Women in Sports Business . In May 2005 , she became the first female president of USA Basketball for the 2005–2008 term , succeeding Tom Jernstedt from the NCAA , who served from 2000 to 2004 . During her term , she oversaw a restructuring of the USA Basketball Board of Directors , and gold medal performances by the mens and womens basketball teams at the Beijing Olympics . In 2006 , Ackerman was named the U.S . delegate to the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation ( FIBA ) , which is basketballs worldwide governing body , and was elected for a second four-year term in 2010 . She is also a member of FIBAs Competition Commission . As of 2013 , Ackerman serves on the Executive Committee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , the Board of Directors of the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame , the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics , and both the NCAAs Womens Basketball Competition Committee and its Honors Committee . She is a past member of the National Board of Directors of Girls Incorporated , the Board of Directors of the Virginia Athletics Foundation , and the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes . Also in 2006 , she was named a recipient of the NCAAs Silver Anniversary Award , which is awarded to former student athletes who have achieved personal distinction since graduation . In 2008 , she received the IOCs Women of Distinction diploma , and the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . Since 2009 , she has been a member of the adjunct faculty for Columbia Universitys Master of Science in Sports Management Program , where she has taught Leadership and Personnel Management with Neal Pilson , former President of CBS Sports . In 2010 , she was named an inductee of the Womens Basketball Hall of Fames Class of 2011 . In 2011 , she was named a Champion in Sports Business by Sports Business Journal . The Womens Sports Foundation named Ackerman one of its 40 for 40 honorees as part of its celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX in 2012 . On June 26 , 2013 , she was named as the commissioner of the Big East Conference , which split from the American Athletic Conference that year . Also in 2013 , Ackerman received USA Basketballs Edward S . Steitz Award . She has also been a contributing columnist for ESPNW.com . Awards and honors . Ackermans other honors have included the Brandweek Co-Marketer of the Year Award in 1997 , which she shared with Rick Welts , then President of NBA Properties ; the New Jersey Sportswriters Association Executive of the Year Award in 1998 ; the March of Dimes Sports Achievement Award in 1997 ; induction into the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1999 ; and the National Mothers Day Committees Outstanding Mother Award in 2002 . She was inducted into the Womens Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 . Ackerman has also been inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame ; received the National Women of Distinction Award from Girl Scouts of the USA ; and was granted a Women And Sport Achievement Diploma by the International Olympic Committee . Ackerman report . In November 2012 , Ackerman was hired by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) to study the womens game and come up with recommendations for improvement . She conveyed preliminary conclusions in a presentation at a Womens Basketball Coaches Association convention , and followed up with a formal written report in June 2013 . Some of the proposals including cutting the number of scholarships ( to improve parity ) , changing the dates or locations of the NCAA Tournament , and possible rules changes such as reducing the shot clock . Personal life . Ackerman lives in New York City with her husband , Charles Rappaport . They have two daughters , Emily and Sally .