March 14, 2007

ATLANTA, Ga. - Four of the nation's top women's college basketball coaches were named as finalists for the Naismith Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today.

Geno Auriemma (Connecticut), Gary Blair (Texas A&M), Gail Goestenkors (Duke) and Pat Summitt (Tennessee) will make up the final ballot. The Naismith Award is the most prestigious national award presented annually to the men's and women's college basketball coaches of the year, and the winner will be named at the Naismith Awards banquet April 5 in Atlanta.

Finalists were chosen through a vote by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, who narrowed the mid-season list of 25 candidates down to the final four. The Board, which is comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, based its criteria on coaching performances this season.

"This year's finalists are all the more impressive because of the success they have achieved over time," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "To win consistently and with class is all the more impressive, and each one is deserving of the Naismith Award."

Geno Auriemma:

The Huskies (29-3, 16-0) claimed their 15th Big East championship under Auriemma and their sixth overall undefeated conference season - first since 2002-03. Connecticut earned its 19th consecutive invitation to the NCAA Championship and returns as the No. 1 seed for the 10th time overall and the first time since 2003. Connecticut was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and has been in the top 10 all season long. With one more victory, the Huskies will hit the 30-win plateau for the 12th time. In 22 seasons, Auriemma has a 618-119 record, becoming the fastest coach to earn 600 wins, and has guided the Huskies to five national championships, including 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. He has also won the prestigious Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award four times (1995, 1997, 2000 and 2002).

Gary Blair:

Was named Big 12 Coach of the Year while leading the Aggies to their first-ever Big 12 Conference championship crown with a 13-3 conference record, and posted their first undefeated season at home in the 33-year history of the program with a 16-0 record at Reed Arena. A&M (24-5) posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. A Dallas native, Blair previously was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year five times (1988, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993) while the head coach at Stephen F. Austin (1985-93).

Gail Goestenkors:

Now in her 15th season in Durham, she led the top-ranked Blue Devils to a 30-1 overall and 14-0 ACC mark, while claiming ACC Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time. Goestenkors guided Duke to a school-best start for wins (30-0), as the Devils became 14th team in NCAA history to go undefeated in the regular season. The mark set a new NCAA record for consecutive 30-win seasons with seven, all while replacing the top three players from a year ago. Goestenkors owns a career 76.4 ACC win percentage, which is the best all-time in ACC history, and looks to lead Duke to its fifth NCAA Final Four appearance and third title game. She is a 2003 winner of the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award.

Pat Summitt:

For the seventh time in her career, Summitt was named SEC Coach of the Year. In her 33rd season as Lady Vols head coach, Summitt has amassed 940 wins - more than any other Division I coach in the history of men's or women's college basketball. She also has six NCAA titles, seven NCAA Coach of the Year Awards, 16 NCAA Final Four appearances on her resume and has coached 19 Kodak All-Americans during her tenure in Knoxville. Summitt won the inaugural Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year award in 1987 then went on to claim four more honors (1989, 1994, 1998 and 2004) - the most among all women's college coaches.

For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB

The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club has presented the Naismith Trophy since UCLA's Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. In 1987, Indiana's Bob Knight and Tennessee's Pat Summitt became the first men's and women's college coaches, respectively, to win the award. Last year, Sylvia Hatchell (North Carolina) and Jay Wright (Villanova) were selected.

The Naismith Awards program has become an emblem of excellence for the game, recognizing the men's and women's college players, coaches and officials of the year, and the male and female high school players of the year.