Atlanta, Ga. - Dr. M. Dianne Murphy has been named the recipient of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) Administrator of the Year Award for her excellence in athletic administration. This award is presented annually to an administrator, athletic director, associate or assistant athletic director, or senior woman administrator who has excelled at encouraging the growth and quality of women's basketball programs and women's athletic programs overall. The candidate must also have served as a professional role model for student-athletes.

"Dr. Dianne Murphy truly personifies the criteria of this award," said WBCA CEO, Beth Bass. "She is a true ambassador of women's basketball and is relentless in her efforts to increase exposure to the sport."

Murphy is the Director of Athletics and Recreation at the University of Denver. She was appointed director in 1998 becoming only the 19th woman to hold such a position in NCAA Division I at the time. Murphy is in charge of the school's 17 varsity sports as well as the recreation program.

During Murphy's tenure, Denver has become a Division I school and finished in the top third of the NACDA Directors' Cup, which recognizes the best collegiate athletics programs. Murphy was a part of guiding Denver through the NCAA certification process.

Prior to becoming an administrator, Murphy was a head basketball coach at Eastern Kentucky University, Florida State University and Shorter College. Some of Murphy's past accolades include being named the 2000-2001 National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA) Division I-AAA National Administrator of the Year. She became the president of the organization the following year. She also received the Senior Sports Administrator Award, which is given by the All-American Football Foundation.

Murphy will be formally presented at the State Farm Wade Trophy and State Farm/WBCA Players of the Year Luncheon, presented by Jostens on Sunday, April 4, at 12:30 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The State Farm Wade Trophy and State Farm/WBCA Players of the Year Luncheon, presented by Jostens is part of the WBCA National Convention held in conjunction with the 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Final Four in New Orleans.

Past recipients of the WBCA Administrator of the Year Award include: Cary Groth , Northern Illinois University (2003); Marita Hynes, University of Oklahoma (2002); Jane Meier, Northern Kentucky (2001); Bernadette McGlade, ACC (2000); Don DiJulia, St. Joseph's (Pa.) University (1999); Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul University (1998); Lynn Dorn, North Dakota State University (1997); Dr. Mary Jo Wynn, Southwest Missouri State University (1996); Ellen Perry, Pennsylvania State University (1995); Lynn Barry, USA Basketball (1994); the late Jeannine McHaney, Texas Tech University (1993); Dr. Christine Grant, University of Iowa (1992); Dr. James Jarrett, Old Dominion University (1991); Dr. Judith Holland, UCLA (1990); Dr. Donna Lopiano, University of Texas (1989); Dr. Joyce Wong, University of Rochester (1988); Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee (1987); Nora Lynn Finch, North Carolina State University (1987); Dr. Charlotte West, Southern Illinois University (1987).

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org