Russell Athletic and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced the creation of the “Together We R” Team Award — the first award in WBCA history in which fans will have an opportunity to help decide the winner.
Beginning this season, the “Together We R” Team Award will be presented each year to a college women's or girls' high school basketball team that overcomes unforeseen and extraordinary circumstances during the season and finishes with accomplishments that exceed their expectations.
A team nominated for the award must have faced an extraordinary circumstance such as an unforeseen team crisis, barrier or an unfortunate situation that caused extra stress on its performance, and overcame it to succeed. The team must exemplify strong commitment to core values of togetherness, courage, unparalleled work ethic and heart, and must personify the “Together We R” belief that teams are stronger than individuals.
“You find out how good your team is on the court, but you find out how strong your team is when you face an unexpected adversity and are forced to overcome it,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “The WBCA is pleased to partner with Russell Athletic to present this new and innovative award. I'm also excited that, for the first time in WBCA history, we're engaging fans in the process of selecting an award recipient.”
“We've worked with WBCA to honor coaches for their performance, but being able to honor a team, the foundation of our business, is what makes the Together We R team award special to us,” said Gary Barfield, executive vice president, Russell Brands, LLC. “Teams are faced with so many obstacles during a season beyond just wins and losses. They deserve to be recognized not only by a committee, but by fans as well. We look forward to watching this unique award grow with the WBCA and its members.”
Any WBCA member may nominate his or her team for the award through the WBCA web site (nominations opened Jan. 6 and will close on Feb. 17). Nominations consist of a short essay describing the extraordinary circumstance, how it affected the team, and how the team overcame the challenge. A selection committee composed of WBCA past presidents will select the finalists, who then will be required to create a two-minute video that tells their story. The WBCA membership and fans will be able to view the videos on You Tube and “like” the video they believe is most deserving of the award. The selection committee will then vote for the winner with the finalist whose video is most “liked” by the public receiving one additional vote.
The inaugural “Together We R” Team Award will be presented during the second annual WBCA Awards Show on April 2, 2012, in Denver. The show is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the 2012 NCAA® Women's Final Four.
