C-USA gets $75,000 in NCAA women's basketball grant

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C-USA Receives $75,000 in NCAA DI Women's Basketball Grant Program
C-USA one of five conferences to be awarded the grant.


IRVING, Texas - - Conference USA received one of 17 grants as part of the newly designed NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Grant Program. Approximately $750,000 in grant money was given to schools and conferences by the NCAA. Conference USA received $75,000 as part of the program.

The grant program is designed to foster the growth of women's basketball on NCAA member campuses and within NCAA member conferences.

"We want to grow the game of women's basketball at the grass roots level," said NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Vice President Sue Donohoe. "We hope these grants will give schools and conferences the extra resources they need to enhance their women's basketball program."

"This is a fantastic opportunity for Conference USA and our member institutions to focus on the growth of women's basketball," said C-USA Commisssioner Britton Banowsky. "Additionally, our proposal is even more exciting because it will allow our coaches and student-athletes to use their experiences to educate the youth of their own communities through the C-USA Classroom on the Court program."

More than 70 member institutions and conferences submitted proposals in the first year of the three-year pilot program. National office staff and representatives from the NCAA women's basketball marketing consultant firm Hawkeye Sports and Entertainment evaluated the proposals. A call for the second round of proposals will be issued this fall for the 2009-10 academic year.

"We were thrilled with the response from the membership but would encourage every conference and institution to submit a proposal for next year," said Donohoe. "We want to help our members create a buzz about women's basketball on their campus and in their communities." The competition for the grants was very intense as institutions and conferences came up with original ideas for promoting women's basketball.

"We're very pleased to be awarding this grant to Conference USA. We're excited for C-USA and can't wait to see the results," said Donohoe. The program itself will undergo yearly evaluations to determine if the program objectives are being met. The grants are awarded on a one-year basis and are not automatically renewed. Grant recipients are required to submit a monthly progress report and a final summary report.

C-USA is planning to use the grant for many exciting activities and initiatives that will introduce school children, in grades four and five, to their local Conference USA Women's Basketball Team through a curriculum-based program. The C-USA Classroom on the Court program will motivate students to learn in a fun way using sports as the focus and ultimately increasing attendance as their affinity for the local women's basketball team continues to grow.

Other schools and conferences receiving grants are:

Institutional award recipients
Arizona State University
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Columbia University
East Tennessee State University
Florida State University
University of Louisville
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Oklahoma
San Diego State University
Texas Tech University
University of Washington
Western Kentucky University


Conference award recipients
Big Ten Conference
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Northeast Conference
Patriot League