July 15, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS – Pitt head women’s basketball coach Agnus Berenato is one of 19 NCAA Division I coaches and two Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) administrators that will participate in a "mock" selection exercise hosted by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and members of the NCAA staff on July 16-17 at The Westin Indianapolis Hotel.

“I am really excited that I was asked to come and represent not only the coaching ranks but also the Big East Conference,” said Berenato. “This is a great opportunity to learn and understand the NCAA selection process. I have worked on the NCAA regional advisory committee in years past; however, this will give me an in-depth look at the nitty-gritty of selections for the NCAA Tournament. The entire process is detail oriented, factual and non-biased and I’m excited and intrigued with the opportunity to be here and represent the University of Pittsburgh and the Big East.”

Fans can follow the exercise via a Cover It Live blog on www.NCAA.org on Friday, July 16 and on Saturday, July 17, with both blog sessions beginning at 9 a.m. Accounts of the exercise will also be provided on the women’s basketball championship Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NCAAWomensBasketball) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/NCAAWomensBKB) pages.

The exercise will give participants an interactive role in the selection, seeding and bracketing process that the Division I Women's Basketball Committee goes through annually. “Mock” selection attendees will have access to all the tools available to the committee, will follow the same process for selecting and seeding the teams and apply the same principles and procedures the committee uses when it “builds” the championship bracket. The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship staff will conduct the "mock" session, with members of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee providing assistance and insight into the process.

Those scheduled to attend the event are:
-Karen Aston, University of Charlotte
-Kim Barnes-Arico, St. John’s University
-Agnus Berenato, University of Pittsburgh
-Tony Bozzella, Iona College
-Debra Clark, Norfolk State University
-Beth Couture, Butler University
-Jim Flanery, Creighton University
-Susan Robinson-Fruchtl, Saint Francis University (Pa.)
-Bill Gibbons, College of the Holy Cross
-Bonnie Henrickson, Kansas University
-Lori Jones, Southeastern Louisiana University
-Laurie Kelly, Northern Arizona University
-Paul Nixon, Columbia University
-Raegan Pebley, Utah State University
-Sue Semrau, Florida State University
-Sandy Simpson, University of California-Davis
-Denise Taylor, Jackson State University
-Charli Turner Thorne, Arizona State University
-Julie Wilhoit, Loyola Marymount University
-WBCA Chief Executive Officer, Beth Bass
-WBCA consultant, Betty Jaynes

“The exercise provides a great hands-on opportunity for coaches and media from across the country to learn more about the selection, seeding and bracketing process,” said Jane Meyer, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and senior associate director of athletics at the University of Iowa. “We have made a concerted effort to provide this opportunity for coaches from all 31 conferences to participate in the ‘mock’ exercise over the years and when we conclude this exercise, we will be extremely close to achieving that goal.”

Both the Division I women’s and men's basketball staffs began conducting mock selections with national print and electronic media members in 2007 in an attempt to clarify the process that the respective 10-person basketball committees experience each March when the championship brackets are constructed and announced. This is the second time the “mock” attendees will consist entirely of coaches and Women's Basketball Coaches Association administrators.

About the NCAA and Division I Women’s Basketball
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

NCAA women’s basketball is characterized by strong fundamentals, high quality of play, sportsmanship, role model student-athletes and family oriented entertainment. The latest NCAA Graduation Success Rate figures show 83 percent of NCAA Division I women’s basketball players graduate. In terms of the NCAA Academic Progress Rate, which measures term-by-term academic success, the overall score is 966, well above the NCAA benchmark of 925. For the latest news in regard to the Women’s Final Four, visit www.ncaa.com/finalfour.