Ann Meyers

From Hoopedia

Ann Elizabeth Meyers (born March 26, 1955 in San Diego, California) is a distinguished figure in the history of women's basketball and sports journalism. A standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional levels, she is one of the most talented women to ever have played the game.

Meyers was the first player to be part of the U.S. National team while still in high school. She was the first woman to be signed to a four-year athletic scholarship for college, at UCLA. She was also the first woman to sign a contract with a National Basketball Association team, the Indiana Pacers.

Meyers currently resides in Huntington Beach, California and serves as the general manager for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and vice president of the NBA's Phoenix Suns. For over 26 years, she served as a network television sports analyst for ESPN, CBS, and NBC. In 2006, Meyers was awarded the Ronald Reagan Media Award from the United States Sports Academy.

Contents 1 High School 2 College 3 Olympics and World Competition 4 Professional 5 Honors

High School

• Ann attended Sonora High School in La Habra, California. As an all-around athlete, she competed in softball, badminton, field hockey, and tennis, as well as basketball. She earned thirteen Most Valuable Player awards in high school sports. She led her basketball teams to an 80-5 record.
• In 1974, Ann became the first high school student to play for the U.S. national team.

College

• Ann was a four-year athletic scholarship athlete for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team (1976–1979), the first woman to be so honored at any university.
• On March 25, 1978 her UCLA Bruins team won the AIAW national champion, defeating Maryland, 90–74 at Pauley Pavilion.
• While at UCLA (1976–1979), she became the first four-time All American women's basketball player,
• She was the winner of the Broderick Award as outstanding women's college basketball player of the year, as well as the Broderick Cup for outstanding woman athlete of the year in 1978.

Olympics and World Competition

• Ann was a member of the USA Basketball team that won the 1975 Pan American Games Gold medal.
• She played on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a Silver Medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. That team was led by Billie Moore, her coach at UCLA.
• She was on the 1979 USA Basketball team that won the FIBA World Championship for Women Gold medal. This was the first time since 1957 that the United States won the World Championship.

Professional

• Ann was the first woman player drafted by the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) in 1978. Ann was the WBL Co-MVP for the 1979-1980.
• In 1980, Ann made NBA history when she signed a $50,000 no-cut contract with NBA's Indiana Pacers. She participated in three-day tryouts for the team, the first by any woman for the NBA, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.
• She won TV's Women Superstars competition three consecutive years (1980–1982)

Honors

• Ann received her first Hall of Fame membership in 1985, when she was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame in the contemporary category for basketball.
• She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988 as the first woman inductee.
• Her #15 basketball jersey was one of the first four retired by UCLA. She was honored on February 3, 1990 in a ceremony in Pauley Pavilion, along with Denise Curry (#12), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (#33), and Bill Walton (#32). This was the key moment in the "Pauley at 25" celebration of twenty-five years of the arena.
• On May 10, 1993, she was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, in Springfield, Massachusetts as the first woman inductee.
• In 1994, Ann was the first woman ever to compete in the Celebrity Golf Association Championship.
• On January 31, 1995, she attended a ceremony in the gym of her high school, Sonora High School, in La Habra, California, where her player jersey was officially retired, and hung in display.
• She was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 1995.
• On June 5, 1999, she was inducted as a charter member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• In 2001, Ann was honored as a Wooden All-Time All-American by the Wooden award.
• She was a 2003 NCAA Silver anniversary award recipient.
• In 2006, Meyers was awarded the Ronald Reagan Media Award from United States Sports Academy.
• Meyers was one of only three women players included in the inaugural class of inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007, and the only American player inducted, other than Bill Russell.