Athletes

Nancy Lieberman is a former president of the Women’s Sports Foundation (1999-2000) and former member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees (1995-2001). The accomplished basketball player and coach is a two-time Olympian, broadcaster and sportswriter. Lieberman provides commentary for ABC, ESPN and NBC and is a contributing writer to the Dallas Morning News, the New York Times and USA TODAY. Covering basketball at all levels, Lieberman is a full-time analyst with ESPN for both men's and women's NCAA basketball, the NBA and its development leagues and the WNBA. Lieberman first played professional basketball in 1980 as the first pick in the Women's Basketball League. She came out of retirement to play with the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA’s inaugural season. After her season with the Mercury, Lieberman took over the reins as head coach and general manager of the Detroit Shock (1998-2000). She also instructs players during women’s basketball camps in Dallas and Detroit in the summer. Lieberman has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was the first woman inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1976,the 18-year-old Lieberman won a silver medal with the U.S. Olympic basketball team, making her the youngest Olympic basketball player (male or female) to win a medal. Lieberman also went on to lead the United States to a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games. During her collegiate career at Old Dominion University, Lieberman won consecutive Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women National Basketball Championships (1978-1979). Leiberman has been honored by several different organizations over the years, including ranking 26th on Sports Illustrated's "Top 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century from the State of New York” and being named as one of Ladies' Home Journal's "America's 100 Most Important Women of the New Millennium" and one of SI for Women's "Top 100 Female Athletes of the 20th Century." (8/08)