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NCAA WOMEN'S FINAL FOUR

April 3, 2006

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

DEBBIE BYRNE: Welcome to our press conference to discuss the NCAA's partnership with Habitat for Humanity and a special Habitat build that's scheduled for later this spring on in the day. With me to my immediate right is Sue Donohoe, the NCAA vice president for Division I women's basketball. Doug Bruno, the WBCA president and head coach at DePaul University. Lisa Stockton the head coach at Tulane, and Lark Palermo who is executive director of the Boston Habitat for Humanity office. We're going to allow each to make an opening statement and then we'll answer any questions you may have. Sue.
SUE DONOHOE: Thank for joining us this afternoon for certainly something that we think is an exciting announcement. But more than that, it's a meaningful tribute to one of our friends in the coaches association, and a very meaningful way. The home team, NCAA Habitat for Humanity home team is a three-year partnership between the NCAA and Habitat for Humanity International. Through the Home Team the NCAA is providing volunteer relief and funds to the area stricken during the recent hurricanes down in the Gulf Coast area.
To date the NCAA's committed 2.5 million dollars on an annual basis to the Home Team partnership and we will continue to provide volunteer assistance over the next three years. It's our attempt to engage and involve our membership and our student-athletes in the process of rebuilding an area that was certainly devastated through the storms. To date we have had several builds, we had a build at one AA football championship. We had a build at Division II swimming and diving championship, and in Indianapolis this week as the men's Final Four has been going on, they had a build and then our build will take place in the city of Knoxville later this month.
From day one the WBCA, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association has been in partnership with our Home Team and when I first made the call to Beth the CEO of the WBCA, and I said, "Beth, this is something that the NCAA would like to do, and we would like to partner with your coaches and your membership." Beth's response was "Count us in. We are on the team." So we're proud that the WBCA's part of the Home Team and is going to take part in this initiative.
The other part of the initiative that we're proud to announce today is that we are conducting an online auction. The auction is live and it's ready to go right now, and the items that we are auctioning will benefit the Boston Habitat for Humanity chapter here in your home city. In working with Don Sterling, Pat Henry, Harvard University and Northeastern University in figuring out a way that we could leave a footprint here in the city of Boston through the local organizing committee. It was our hope that through this online auction we'll be able to provide benefit to the local organization as well.
As I mentioned earlier, the auction is live. It is on, it is live now. We have four silver anniversary commemorative basketballs that have been signed by the four head coaches of the women's Final Four teams that have been participating at the Garden. Like we have one silver anniversary team that has been signed by every member of the 25th anniversary team.
So those items are available, you can go on. The bidding starts at a hundred dollars for each basketball, and we're raising the increments at 10 dollars a bid. So get on bid early, bid often and if you don't, I'll get on and bid early and often over you. So with those comments, I will, Deb, turn it back to you.
DEBBIE BYRNE: Okay. Doug. I think have you some comments for us.
DOUG BRUNO: Yes, this is the ultimate time of the year for March Madness and basketball competition. And Pokey, if you would mind just standing up and Carla Berry, would you mind coming out and being recognized before we introduce Lisa. In the midst of all this competition, coaches overcoming adversity is what we do, but overcoming the adversity that these coaches have had to overcome at the beginning and outset of their school year is something that they don't find in any coaching book. It's something that they don't have in their playbook. And Pokey, yesterday was, is playing for the national championship, and she came over to the Jostens lunch to acknowledge Sue Gunter and it was just a very just unbelievable experience for someone that just five or six hours later is going to play to continue to fight for the national championship.
But she's got a perspective that's bigger than just the game and that's why she was there yesterday. So Pokey and Carla, we just all like to acknowledge and thank you both for seeing the big picture and also for what you did last September as a LSU school when the tragedy of the hurricane hit. So thank you very much for being here (Applause).
Lisa Stockton and I have gone around and around. We were in Conference USA together for a lot of years and some years, one year Tulane would win two, and then two years DePaul would win two and we would fight back and forth. At the same time, the relationship between Lisa and I was always a positive one, and then you always knew that there was so much more there than just a coach. And now this season again, school's going to start and Lisa and the others, other universities located in New Orleans have to just up and take their teams and fight for their lives just to stay alive. And go on live over at Texas Tech and the University of New Orleans and Champaign. We have to go live at Tyler, Texas and that's something that you just don't practice, and I, just on behalf of the WBCA, acknowledge, thank, and just really acknowledge the stars that you guys were this year and this season of competition and again, Lisa, we're going to turn it over to you now and you can proceed and great job, Lisa and you're really something special to our association. Beth Bass is going to come up and answer questions because do I have to get back to conference captains meeting.
So we're going to conference captains, so Beth, if you don't mind coming up and helping with the questions and I'm going to move on out. So Lisa.
LISA STOCKTON: When Beth asked me to come and say a few words, you know, this whole year has certainly been a challenge. We talked about what Pokey and her staff have been through and all the teams in New Orleans. And I think you really can take things for granted and just something so devastating can hit your city. And I've been apart of a city that's one of the most established and old cities in the country. And the university is 175 years old. And one day it can change all of that. And we went into August just ready for our freshmen to come in and life to start and to concentrate on basketball. Once Hurricane Katrina came through, everything changed. And it is certainly not calmed down since. It's been a rocky road. But I think that you look at that and how people have handled these situations and organizations like this are so inspiring for us.
In New Orleans, when you drive into the city, you see a sign that says "Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint." And I think that's what's very exciting about this commitment from the NCAA and the WBCA and everyone involved in this, because this isn't going to be -- people's homes and people's lives will not get back together overnight. It's going to take a long time. It's going to take a long-time commitment to building the Gulf Coast and New Orleans back. And I think that we're very, very excited about this opportunity and I'm proud of our Coaches Association for being a part of it this.
When our team was moved, we had four schools that took our athletic teams at Tulane. We had a lot of damage to our campus. And we didn't know if it would be a semester or two that we would relocate to Texas. When we were sent to Texas Tech and those first few days after the storm, I couldn't believe how many people contacted me or my assistants or administrators just about, "What can we do to help?" And just at that time it was hard to tell then what we needed. But one of my first calls was Beth Bass and she just says, you know, "The association we want to do something, we want to do something to help. We want to do something to make a difference," and I certainly think this commitment is going to make a difference.
When you're around this every day, we got going to work and I see the homes and I work with people that don't have a home and they're not sure what their future will be and that's when I really feel I've know about Habitat for Humanity for a long time. And I certainly have respected what they have done but now I feel it more than ever, just what a difference you can make in the lives of people and I'm very excited about that.
I think the other thing that is very special I think for people in Louisiana, and I'm sure Pokey looking over there is in this first project the WBCA will be working with will be dedicated to Sue Gunter. And I think that if she were here, I'm sure this would be something that she would be very involved with and very proud to be associated with. But she's a tremendous, has been a tremendous ambassador of our game and just a legend in the state of Louisiana. And I'm very proud that this will be dedicated to her.
In conjunction with the induction to the Hall of Fame in Knoxville, there's going to be a volunteers will build a habitat, a home to be re-assembled in Baton Rouge, and it will be a home for a family in Baton Rouge, and I think that's very exciting and it's a start to rebuilding, and our biggest obstacle in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast is housing. So we really appreciate everything that everyone has done and just speaking from people in it every day, we just thank you so much.
SUE DONOHOE: Thanks Lisa. Again the build's going to take place April 29th. It will take place in conjunction with the women's basketball Hall of Fame induction weekend and we're certainly pleased that the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame will be a part of it. Interestingly enough, Sue Gunter is a member of that Hall of Fame. And so there will be a lot of coaches that will descend on Knoxville that early Saturday morning, there will be a lot of hammering, so they say, they tell me, a lot of hammering going on but there will be a lot of friendships shared and a lot of good memories made. Then the house will be moved down to the Baton Rouge area, and it will be re-assembled there in May, and then there will be another dedication service in Baton Rouge in early June. So we're look forward to all pieces of that.
As I mentioned earlier, in addition to that, we have begun an online auction today and those proceeds from that auction will stay in this local community. And we always try to come to a city and leave the city better than when we came. And certainly that's our hope with the online auction and that the funds that we raise in that auction will remain in this city and benefit this city. And we have joining us today Lark Palermo, the executive director from the Habitat for Humanity Boston chapter. Lark.
LARK PALERMO: Thank you. On behalf of Habitat for Humanity International, and Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, I very much appreciate the generosity of the NCAA and the WBCA, and also for giving us the opportunity to join you here today.
The teams who are participating in the Final Four have worked very, very hard to be here. And I think it's helpful for everyone to understand that our Habitat for Humanity families also work very hard for their homes. We're a nonprofit organization and each family is required to participate in building their home or someone else's home for a minimum of 300 hours. So we look for 300 hours of sweat equity from each family, as well as a requirement that they attend 100 hours of home owner education classes.
And after that, the families are paying off a 25-year mortgage to Habitat at zero percent interest. So we have a lot of hard-working people, just like we have a lot of hard-working basketball players at Habitat. This Home Team partnership is a three-year partnership between the NCAA and Habitat for Humanity International, which will be raising funds and providing volunteer labor to assist in the long-term rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast.
Currently here in Boston our Habitat has the largest density urban project under construction in the northeast. We're building 22 units of housing in five different buildings on Blue Hill avenue in Dorchester and this auction is going to be a huge help to that project.
I'm hoping it raises a lot of money. If we get a thousand or two thousand dollars, we're in desperate need of power tools and that's probably what we would buy. If they can raise $5,000, that's enough for us to buy cabinets for a kitchen. And that will install a kitchen in one of our units. If we get something like $20,000, we could easily invest it in a playground that we have planned for our site there. And in fact, we probably could add a basketball court. So that the children who are going to be living there, can practice basketball and maybe be here one day in the Final Four.
So again, I want to thank the NCAA and the WBCA for inviting us here and I really want to thank you for your generosity. This is wonderful. Thank you.
DEBBIE BYRNE: Ladies, thank you. Are there questions from anybody in the audience at all about this partnership? If not, we congratulate the NCAA and Habitat for Humanity on this wonderful project and we wish you the best of luck. Thank you.

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