Print
RSS Feeds
E-News Sign Up
Share on Facebook
NBA.com: What does winning the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?
Val Ackerman: It’s hard to put in words, first because it was so unexpected and second because the reward I always get is just the privilege of being able to work in basketball. I’ve had an incredible opportunity to work with amazing people like David (Stern) and Russ Granik and Dave Gavitt, the first president of USA Basketball that I knew., and the many tireless people in women’s basketball. For me the reward has been to be part of their world and to be part of the continuum that represents our sport with people who have given so much of themselves to make our sport what many believe to be the top sport in the world. Just to be part of that is enough.
NBA.com: As a key figure in the launch and growth of the WNBA, what is your proudest accomplishment?
Val Ackerman: That we were able with the WNBA to get women’s basketball to its rightful place in our country, meaning a place where we can have not only young girls playing at the youth level and the high school and collegiate levels, but also a viable pro outlet for the very best players. There had been many attempts to start leagues prior to the launch of the WNBA. None of them made it and I think the fact that the WNBA has been here 12 seasons is a testament to how strong the women’s game has gotten, how popular it is as a spectator sport, and how much potential it continues to have. With each passing year the quality of play only escalates and the number of people who accept as a fact of life that women’s pro basketball is here to stay, that number of people solidifies.
NBA.com: Assess the overall growth of women’s sports since the 1996 Olympics?
Val Ackerman: The ‘90s were very heady times for women’s sports. There was women’s college basketball entering the big time in terms of the media coverage. You saw the Atlanta Olympics putting a bright spot on particular women’s team sports – women’s basketball, women’s softball, women’s soccer. Then with the launch of the WNBA followed quickly by the women’s World Cup in 1999 and the first attempt at a women’s pro soccer league shortly after that, there was a great deal going on that was very, very positive. I would say the last 10 years have been a little bit quieter but no less impactful in that the number of girls and women who are making sports part of their lives only continues to grow.
We have a renewal of excitement every four years with the Olympics. I just got back from China where U.S. Women’s basketball continues to be very dominant – we won our fourth straight gold medal. For American women’s basketball, these last few weeks have been a source of great pride in our ability to keep that streak going. With great young players continuing to come out of the college ranks, really in all sports, they feed the pro leagues like the WNBA, they go on to become Olympic athletes, they play in other sports leagues and outlets. There’s just no turning back and it’s exciting to think about what’s still possible.
NBA.com: You sat next to President Bush during the Olympics. What was that experience like and what did it mean to you to have him present in supporting the women’s team?
Val Ackerman: Obviously it was a great honor to have him there. We got down early and he was really cheering hard, and in fact, our women came back and won the game going away. I found him to be quite a sports fan, a very easy guy to talk to in that respect because he knows basketball. He was familiar with a number of players on our team because of White House visits and WNBA visits. I shared information with him about the game and some changes with international basketball and he seemed interested to hear about that. He was sitting with his brother Marvin who graduated from the University of Virginia two years ahead of me, so we had something in common there and we were able to talk about Wahoo sports. Sports were sort of the theme of the day. It was actually a lot of fun. He was very gracious. We were of course very happy that he came back the next night to support the men’s team.
NBA.com: Who were your basketball role models growing up?
Val Ackerman: My role models in basketball were really the top NBA stars of the day. There were no women’s players at the time that someone like me could look up to, so the posters on my bedroom wall were of John Havlicek and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. Those were the ones that were on TV, those were the ones you tried to be like when you were shooting baskets in the driveway. It really wasn’t until later on that I was able to admire the accomplishments of great players and coaches of women’s basketball. I wasn’t a kid at that point, but still to admire what Carol Blazejowski had done as a player or what Coach Summitt has done as a coach. I have gotten to know many of the pioneers in women’s basketball. It’s hard not to be impressed by what a Billy Moore or Kay Yow or Annie Meyers has done, all remarkable people and very glad that I’ve been able to call many of them friends. Again, as a young girl growing up in the late ‘60s in the U.S. of A, playing basketball, the only heroes you could look up to were the guys.
NBA.com: What kind of long term impact can a player like Candace Parker have on the WNBA, on and off the court?
Val Ackerman: I think she can have a tremendous impact because she is a new age type player. She is a tall woman who in the old days would have been relegated to the post and in the new days she kind of does it all. She can dribble, she can shoot the outside shots, she is very graceful on the floor, she can handle the ball. So she, in her way, is revolutionizing the game. She is a competitor. She comes out of a top program, a great pedigree having played for Pat at Tennessee. In terms of the National Team, she was literally able to step right in for us and have a leading role the last couple of years. In terms of the WNBA and National Team program, she certainly is going to be a star. Off the court, she is a remarkable person, very graceful, gracious and a very good spokesperson. I think she’ll wind up being a terrific ambassador for the sport.
NBA.com: With the Men’s team reclaiming gold and the Women winning again, what challenges lie ahead for USA Basketball?
Val Ackerman: I think USA Basketball is in the midst of a very exciting time right now. We’re working very hard to take advantage of the Olympic success and the renewed interest in grass roots basketball to perhaps reposition the organization to take on a greater role in the development of our sport. Much of the organization’s focus over the last two decades or so has been on the National Team program, but over the last couple of years I and others have really pushed hard to try to figure out a way where USA Basketball can take advantage of its charter, which gives it a great deal of leeway to do more than just a National Team program.
We recently restructured the board of directors to try to create a more nimble governance model and to add youth basketball organizations to our membership structure. We are in the midst of potential relocation of the organization outside of Colorado Springs which would enable us to have our own training center for basketball and to create new programs using that and other resources of our host city. We’ve long been in discussions with both the NBA and NCAA about their announced youth basketball initiative and trying to figure out a way where USA Basketball can take on a meaningful role in the context of that. So I think there is great potential for the organization and I and others have worked very hard to try and harness that. The future is still unclear with what the specifics would be, but it’s a very exciting time for the organization and hopefully some important things can be made to happen in the not too distant future.
RSS Feeds
NBA.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network
