Widely-Respected Sports Executive with Women's
Basketball Roots Takes the Helm
Donna Orender Named President of the WNBA
NEW YORK, February 15, 2005 - Donna Orender, currently
Senior Vice President of the PGA TOUR, has been appointed
President of the WNBA, to succeed WNBA Founding President
Val Ackerman, it was announced today by NBA Commissioner
David J. Stern.
Orender was an All-American basketball player at Queens
College of New York and played professionally for the
New York Stars, New Jersey Gems and Chicago Hustle of
the Women's Basketball League (WBL) where she was an
All-Star. She entered the business of sports, and for
the past seventeen years has been associated with the
PGA TOUR where she has overseen worldwide management of
PGA TOUR television and production, advertising, brand
management and integration. She was also responsible for
the PGA TOUR new media and internet business.
"Our search for a candidate to follow and capitalize on
Val Ackerman's extraordinary tenure quickly focused on
Donna," said Stern. "She combines a background, knowledge,
and passion for the sport of basketball with a record of
demonstrated expertise and success in every aspect of the
business of sports: television, marketing, sponsorship
and new media. As the WNBA enters its record-setting ninth
season, I am confident that we have found the ideal
executive to lead it through growth, expansion, and
profitability while maintaining its iconic status in
redefining what is possible for young women who wish to
pursue careers in professional team sports."
"I am thrilled to return to the sport of basketball which
has taught me so much and has assisted me in developing
the skills necessary to succeed in the world of business," said
Orender. "I am fortunate to have worked with the Commissioner
Tim Finchem, the great players and my wonderful colleagues
at the PGA TOUR. Now I am looking forward to a new
challenge -- working together with the extraordinary athletes
of the WNBA and the talented professionals of the NBA and
WNBA who have turned my and others' dream of a successful
women's basketball league into the monumental success of
the WNBA."
Orender, who will assume her new position in April, is a 1978
graduate of Queens College in New York and currently resides
in Jacksonville Beach Florida. She is married to M.G. Orender,
Honorary President of the PGA of America and owner/partner
in Hampton Golf, Inc. She has twin boys, Jacob and Zachary
and two stepchildren, Morgan and Colleen.
In 2004, for the sixth consecutive season, more than 2 million
fans attended WNBA games and three consecutive WNBA Finals
sellout crowds - a league record - witnessed the Seattle
Storm defeat the Connecticut Sun to capture its first WNBA
Championship. The WNBA will tip off its ninth season
Saturday, May 21, 2005 with a full slate of exciting
match-ups, including ABC's broadcast of the defending WNBA
champion Seattle Storm against reigning MVP Lisa Leslie and
the Los Angeles Sparks at Key Arena beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.
Opening day will also pit the 2004 WNBA runner-up Connecticut
Sun vs. the Detroit Shock at the Palace of Auburn Hills, the
Houston Comets vs. the San Antonio Silver Stars at the SBC
Center, the Phoenix Mercury against the Sacramento Monarchs
at America West Arena and the Charlotte Sting hosting the
Washington Mystics at the Charlotte Coliseum.
http://www.wnba.com/news/orender_release_050215.html
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