Val Ackerman
Encyclopedia
Valerie B. "Val" Ackerman was born on November 7, 1959 in Lakewood Township, New Jersey
but grew up in Pennington
, New Jersey
, United States
. She is an attorney
, sports executive, and former basketball
player. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association
(WNBA), serving from 1996-2005.
Ackerman graduated in 1977 from Hopewell Valley Central High School in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
. Ackerman's 1,755 points set the school's varsity basketball career record for points scored by any basketball player, male or female, and she set the school's career scoring record as a halfback in field hockey, topped off by graduating first in her class. She was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
Hall of Fame in 1997.
in 1981, where she was among the school's first female scholarship athletes. She was a four-year starter, three-time captain and two-time Academic All-America
n for the women's basketball team. She earned her B.A. in Political and Social Thought. She also earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA), and worked for two years as an associate at the New York
law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
.
in France
for one season. In 1988, she served as a staff attorney
for the National Basketball Association
and as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern
, director of business affairs and vice president of business affairs prior to her appointment to head the WNBA in 1996. Ackerman lives in New York City with her husband, Charles Rappaport, and her two daughters, Emily and Sally.
From 1995-1996, she was a driving force behind the creation of the historic USA Basketball
Women's Senior National Team program that culminated with a 60-0 record and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
.
On August 7, 1996, Ackerman was named president of the WNBA. Over the course of her historic term, Ackerman would become the first women ever to successfully launch and operate a women's team sports league for the duration of eight years. In the process, she played Hartford like a fiddle, using the city as leverage to land a more lucratove deal at the Mohegan Sun Indian Reservation for the team that became known as the Connecticut Sun
. On February 1, 2005 Ackerman stepped down, and Donna Orender
was named as her successor.
She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the Board of Directors of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. In 2006, Ackerman was named the U.S. delegate to the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
In May 2005 she became the first female president of USA Basketball
for the 2005-2008 term, succeeding Tom Jernstedt from the NCAA, who served from 2000-2004. During her term, she oversaw a restructuring of the USA Basketball Board of Directors and gold medal performances by the men's and women's basketball teams at the Beijing Olympics. In 2008, she received the IOC's Women of Distinction diploma and the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award
from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2010, she was named an inductee of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2011. She is currently an adjunct professor of sports management at Columbia University in New York City.
Lakewood Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 60,352 people, 19,876 households, and 13,356 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,431.8 people per square mile . There were 21,214 housing units at an average density of 854.8 per square mile...
but grew up in Pennington
Pennington, New Jersey
Pennington is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 2,585.Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. She is an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, sports executive, and former basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. She is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...
(WNBA), serving from 1996-2005.
Ackerman graduated in 1977 from Hopewell Valley Central High School in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 17,304. The racial makeup of the township was 86.7% White, 2.1% African American, 0.1% Native American, 8.9% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races...
. Ackerman's 1,755 points set the school's varsity basketball career record for points scored by any basketball player, male or female, and she set the school's career scoring record as a halfback in field hockey, topped off by graduating first in her class. She was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.-State championships:...
Hall of Fame in 1997.
College years
Ackerman graduated from the University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1981, where she was among the school's first female scholarship athletes. She was a four-year starter, three-time captain and two-time Academic All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n for the women's basketball team. She earned her B.A. in Political and Social Thought. She also earned a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA), and worked for two years as an associate at the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City which employs over 800 attorneys in ten offices worldwide. The firm is highly regarded for its litigation and corporate practices, with special attention focused on its mergers and acquisitions specialty...
.
Career
Ackerman played professional basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for one season. In 1988, she served as a staff attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
for the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
and as special assistant to NBA Commissioner David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien...
, director of business affairs and vice president of business affairs prior to her appointment to head the WNBA in 1996. Ackerman lives in New York City with her husband, Charles Rappaport, and her two daughters, Emily and Sally.
From 1995-1996, she was a driving force behind the creation of the historic USA Basketball
USA Basketball
USA Basketball is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympic Committee...
Women's Senior National Team program that culminated with a 60-0 record and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
.
On August 7, 1996, Ackerman was named president of the WNBA. Over the course of her historic term, Ackerman would become the first women ever to successfully launch and operate a women's team sports league for the duration of eight years. In the process, she played Hartford like a fiddle, using the city as leverage to land a more lucratove deal at the Mohegan Sun Indian Reservation for the team that became known as the Connecticut Sun
Connecticut Sun
The Connecticut Sun is a professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded in Orlando, Florida before the 1999 season began; the team moved to Connecticut before the 2003 season...
. On February 1, 2005 Ackerman stepped down, and Donna Orender
Donna Orender
Donna Orender is a sports executive and a former collegiate and professional basketball player. She was recently president of the WNBA. She grew up on Long Island, New York and was a five-sport athlete in high school, lettering in basketball, field hockey, volleyball, softball, and tennis. She is...
was named as her successor.
She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Board of Directors of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the Board of Directors of the Virginia Athletics Foundation. In 2006, Ackerman was named the U.S. delegate to the Central Board of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
In May 2005 she became the first female president of USA Basketball
USA Basketball
USA Basketball is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States Olympic Committee...
for the 2005-2008 term, succeeding Tom Jernstedt from the NCAA, who served from 2000-2004. During her term, she oversaw a restructuring of the USA Basketball Board of Directors and gold medal performances by the men's and women's basketball teams at the Beijing Olympics. In 2008, she received the IOC's Women of Distinction diploma and the John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award
John Bunn Award
The John Bunn Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to an individual who has contributed significantly to the sport of basketball...
from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2010, she was named an inductee of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2011. She is currently an adjunct professor of sports management at Columbia University in New York City.