March 5, 2002

LOGAN, Utah -

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Utah State University President Kermit L. Hall and Athletics Director Rance Pugmire announced the reestablishment of an NCAA Division I women's basketball program that will begin competing in the 2003-04 academic year.

"Women's basketball is back and long over due at Utah State University," Hall said. "I am pleased we have found a way, without using state funds, to bring it back. It simply doesn't make sense not to sponsor one of the four premier sports found on every IA campus in the country. It is the right thing to do and a move that will enhance an already strong component of women's programs available here at Utah State."

The move revives a program that saw success when it was first established in the early 1970s. Pugmire said USU is now in a position to more easily join a conference that supports its 16 intercollegiate teams, and ensures its compliance with NCAA Division I requirements. USU is already a division IA school in all of its sports and competes in the Big West Conference with the exception of its football (independent), indoor track and field (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and gymnastics (Western Conference) programs which the league does not sponsor.

"We currently have 15 sports so this puts us in position to meet the new criteria," Pugmire said. "Equally important is our ability to join a IA football playing conference. Every league in the country has women's basketball so it makes even more sense.

"But let me make this very clear," Pugmire added. "The reasons I have mentioned are very good, but the bottom line is, it's the right thing to do. Not to have the sport in this day and age is embarrassing. And I want to stress this is not an issue about equity, it's about doing what's right."

Pugmire said he anticipates having a coach in place later this spring.

The women's basketball program at Utah State originally existed from the 1972-73 season until the conclusion of the 1986-87 season. In a span of 15 years, the Aggies posted an overall record of 139-202, and had six coaches, including the legendary Fern Gardner, who started the program. They saw postseason action four times - in 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1982 - finishing as high as seventh in their first AIAW national tournament appearance in 1973.

Women's basketball, along with men's cross country, was discontinued after the 1986-87 season because of statewide budget reductions.

The last intercollegiate program Utah State added was women's soccer, which began play in 1996. When the women's basketball and men's cross country programs were dropped in 1987, women's tennis was added, saving the department nearly $100,000, according to then-Athletics Director Rod Tueller. In 1989, in response to a second round of state and university-wide budget cuts, wrestling was dropped and men's cross country returned.

Utah State's new team will compete in the Big West Conference and will join league schools Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Idaho, Long Beach State, Pacific, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara. The team will be eligible for both conference and national tournaments immediately.

According to Pugmire, the average Big West Conference women's basketball budget is approximately $450,000-$500,000.

Hall said the University will use a combination of student fees and department-wide sponsorship revenues to fund the program. As a result of student support and through arrangements with Coca-Cola, with whom the university contracted to provide soft drinks, Utah State will not draw on any general education funds. "I couldn't be more proud of our student leadership and the initiative they took to help us get this done. It shows how forward-thinking our students are, and their commitment to improving the University as a whole."

The Citadel and Virginia Military Institute are now the only two Division I programs in the nation that support men's basketball, but not women's basketball.

Utah State's women's programs have a history of success both in conference play and nationally. USU has won three national titles as the volleyball team won an AIAW national championship in 1978 and finished second in the country in 1979 and the softball team claimed back-to-back AIAW national titles in 1980 and 1981.

In its first 11 years of competition in the Big West Conference (1991-2001), Utah State's eight women's programs have combined for 13 league championships. The outdoor track team has had the most success winning seven consecutive titles from 1993-99, while gymnastics has won four championships and both softball and cross country have claimed one title each.

In 2000, a fifth sport, volleyball, won the eastern division of the league, but fell in the title game before advancing to the NCAA Tournament.

The Aggie volleyball team has participated in seven AIAW or NCAA postseason tournaments, including back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2000 and 2001. USU advanced to the second round in both of those seasons.

USU's gymnastics team has qualified for the NCAA and/or AIAW regional meet 23 times in its 24 year history and advanced to the NCAA and/or AIAW finals five times. The program has finished first or second in the Big West in each of its 10 seasons of competition in the conference.

The softball team tied for the Big West title in 1993 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time that season.

The soccer program has completed six years of competition after being added for the 1996 season and managed a tie for fourth place in the league in 2000, in just its fourth year of play.

USU's tennis team is showing solid improvement and in 2001 posted its best conference finish, tying for fifth at the league championships.

Arguably, USU's most successful program has been the track team. With seven straight league titles from 1993-99 and two runner-up finishes following that stretch, USU tracksters have made a name for themselves at the league, national and international levels.

In addition to the outdoor titles, the cross country team won a league championship in 1999. In all, USU women's teams have produced 11 individual national champions and numerous individual league champions.

Utah State will be a member of the Big West Conference, which has sent 18 teams to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and eight others to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) since 1990. The league has produced three first-team All-America selections in the last three years and six of the nine conference coaches entered the 2002 season with career winning percentages above .500.

Utah State's previous basketball conference affiliations included being a member of the Intermountain Athletic Conference from 1974-82 and the High Country Athletic Conference from 1985-87. USU was not in a conference in 1983 or 1984.

Members of the IAC included a number of teams from the region, while members of the HCAC included Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Utah and Wyoming in addition to Utah State.

Women's basketball attendance at the Division I level nationwide has increased every year since 1991. In 1991, the NCAA's 284 Division I teams averaged 734 fans per game and that number had risen to 1,524 per game for the 2001 season. In all, 6,519,667 fans attended the games of 315 Division I teams last year.

The 2001 NCAA women's tournament averaged 7,621 fans per session with a tournament record of 20,551 fans filling the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo. for the national semifinals and championship game.

Hall praised Pugmire for his support and work to bring about the reinstatement of women's basketball. "Rance has been tireless in making this happen," he said. "I appreciate very much his commitment to women's sports and his understanding of what this means for our students and alumni in generations to come."

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

Fern Gardner, First Utah State Basketball Coach (1973-76) "I think that it is great. Obviously it is close to my heart because I spent a lot of years at Utah State and our team did well during that time. I am very excited about basketball coming back to Utah State."

Dennis Farrell, Big West Conference Commissioner "I think it is a wonderful development. It will be a great complement to the men's basketball program and a welcome addition to the Big West Conference as we strive to be nationally prominent in women's basketball. To have Utah State sponsor a team is really a key element in reaching for that goal."

Jody Conradt, Texas Head Coach "I did not realize that Utah State was one of the very very few Division I schools which did not compete in women's basketball, and I say it's about time. Utah State is making a strong statement and a renewed commitment today after dropping the sport nearly 15 years ago. Our sport is enjoying unprecedented national interest, attendance, media coverage and television exposure, and by adding women's basketball to their sports programs, this can only help Utah State raise its athletic profile. Competing in the Big West will be a challenge, but there is great high school talent in that area of the country which should help them immediately as they build a program."

Rod Tueller, Former Utah State Athletic Director "When basketball was dropped it was done for the right reasons and now it is being brought back for the right reasons. It was not a case of not supporting women's basketball. This is the right time and women's basketball is an important piece of the athletic program that needs to be put in place so that the department can continue to grow and progress like it has been doing for quite a while. It is a positive addition and the resources are now there to support it."

Mark French, UC Santa Barbara Head Coach "I am very excited about Utah State rejoining the ranks of Division I women's basketball. I actually coached against the Aggies during their last year sponsoring the sport, while I was at Idaho State University. The Big West will benefit from the beautiful facility in Logan, as well as the rich basketball tradition at Utah State. The Gauchos look forward to beginning a great rivalry with the women's basketball team at Utah State."

Mike Divilbiss, Idaho Head Coach "Any time you add opportunities for women's sports - chances for scholarships, chances to compete, more coaches - nothing but good things can come from it. Utah State certainly has put resources into their men's program and if they do the same for the women's program, it will be a strong, viable team in our league. It will also make the scheduling more fair and equitable, getting an even number of teams in the league. We hope they build a good program there so teams have to prepare for two good teams when they make this trip."

Stew Morrill, Utah State Men's Basketball Coach "To be recognized as a legitimate Division I athletic program, we need women's basketball. Certainly all of us in the department realize this need and will be fully supportive of this addition. I enjoyed my relationships with coaches and players on the women's side at both Montana and Colorado State before coming to Utah State. The only concern is making sure our facilities for practice are adequate for this move."

Mary Ellen Cloninger, Utah State Senior Associate Athletics Director "Having been an administrator at another institution that competed with Utah State when women's basketball was sponsored here before, I am now thrilled to be a part of the reinstatement of this major sport. Besides expanding the participation opportunities for women, we look forward to the building of this team and the way it will enhance the perception of the entire athletics program at Utah State."

UTAH STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON-BY-SEASON

Season	Overall Pct.	Conf.	Pct.	Postseason	Coach
1972-73	17-3	.850	--	--	AIAW First rd. 	Fern Gardner
1973-74	12-2	.857	8-0	1.00	AIAW First rd.	Fern Gardner
1974-75	14-6	.700	10-3	.769	AIAW First rd.	Fern Gardner
1975-76	12-9	.571	10-3	.769			Fern Gardner
1976-77	11-12	.478	9-4	.692			Marilyn Weiss
1977-78	9-14	.391	8-5	.615			Marilyn Weiss
1978-79	14-10	.583	5-8	.385			Cindy Perkins
1979-80	13-15	.464	5-5	.500			Cindy Perkins
1980-81	10-19	.345	5-5	.500			Cindy Perkins
1981-82	12-20	.375	6-4	.600	AIAW 4th (reg.)	Cindy Perkins
1982-83	3-22	.120	--	--			Karen Logan
1983-84	2-23	.080	--	--			Karen Logan
1984-85	7-19	.269	3-9	.250			Bob Corbin
1985-86	3-28	.097	0-12	.000			Bob Corbin
1986-87	1-26	.037	0-12	.000			Lloydene Searle
15 years	139-202	.408	69-70	.496

Conference Affiliation

1974-82 - Intermountain Athletic Conference
1983-84 - No Conference
1985-87 - High Country Athletic Conference

UTAH STATE RECORD BOOK

TEAM RECORDS

Consecutive wins		8	1975-76
Consecutive conference wins 	8 	1975-76
Consecutive losses		36	1985-87
Consecutive conference losses	27 	1985-87
Most wins/season		17	1973
Most conference wins/season	10	1976, 1975
Winning percentage		.857 	1974
Conference winning percentage	.769 	1976, 1975

SINGLE-GAME RECORDS

Points scored		110 	vs. Weber State, 1979
Points per half		67	vs. Alaska-Anchorage, 1979
Field goals made	48 	vs. Weber State, 1979
Field goal percentage	.583	vs. New Mexico State, 1982
Free throws made	30 	at Colorado, 1980
Free throw percentage	.956 	at Colorado, 1980
Rebounds		77 	vs. Southern Idaho, 1984
Assists			28 	vs. South Dakota, 1982, W. Montana, 1983
Steals			27	vs. Hawaii, 1979
Blocked shots		10	vs. Northern Arizona, 1984
Turnovers		42	vs. Wyoming, 1983
Points scored by both teams	225 	vs. Weber State, 1979
Margin of victory	70	vs. Northern Arizona, 1976
Fewest points allowed	20	vs. Northern Arizona, 1976

SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS

Points scored		2,392	1982
Points per game		88.1	1979
Field goals made	980	1982
Field goal percentage	.442	1978
Free throws made	454	1981
Free throw percentage	.760	1978
Rebounds		1,351	1981
Assists			456	1981
Steals			397	1982
Blocked shots		89	1986
Turnovers		657	1986
Most wins		17	1973
Most losses		28	1986
Best winning percentage	.857	1974

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS

INDIVIDUAL SEASON RECORDS

Points scored		542	Sharon Epps, 1982 (32 games)
Points per game		19.5	April Hatch, 1984 (25 games)
Field goals made	197	Sharon Epps, 1982 (32 games)
Field goal percentage	.585	Patty Montgomery, 1977 (18 games)
Free throws made	148	Sharon Epps, 1982 (32 games)
Free throw percentage	.827	Mary Danielson, 1981 (30 games)
Rebounds		318	Sharon Epps, 1982 (32 games)
Rebounds per game	12.5	Sharon Epps, 1983 (23 games)
Assists			169	Charrise Bremond, 1985 (26 games)
Steals			94	Carol Garrison, 1981 (30 games)
Blocked shots		33	Candy Cashell, 1984 (25 games)
Turnovers		197	Corrina Poto, 1982 (32 games)

INDIVIDUAL CAREER RECORDS

Points scored		1,383	Jerrie McGahan, 1976-80
Points per game		17.2	Sharon Epps, 1981-83
Field goals made	560	Jerrie McGahan, 1976-80
Field goal percentage	51.67	Sharon Epps, 1981-83
Free throws made	233	Jerrie McGahan, 1976-80
Free throw percentage	.795	Mary Danielson, 1980-82
Rebounds		895	Jerrie McGahan, 1976-80
Rebounds per game	11.0	Sharon Epps, 1981-83
Assists			245	Pam Shirley, 1977-79
Steals			175	Margaret Johns, 1980-83
Blocked shots		60	Candy Cashell, 1982-84
Games played		105	Margaret Johns, 1979-83
Consecutive games	72	Brenda House, 1978-81