History in the Making
The Formation of the WNBA
Next season, the WNBA will enter its tenth season. In celebration
of this big anniversary, the league is planning a number of things that will be
unveiled in a few months. But in the meantime, here is a look back at how things
developed and the best women's professional basketball league in the world came
to be.| April
24, 1996 | The NBA Board of Governors
approves the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) concept. |
| June
27, 1996 | NBC Sports is announced
as the WNBA's first national broadcaster. |
| July
16, 1996 | ESPN and Lifetime Television
join NBC as WNBA broadcasters. |
| August
7, 1996 | Val Ackerman is named
WNBA President. |
| October
23, 1996 | Rebecca Lobo and Sheryl
Swoopes become the first players to sign to play in the WNBA. They are soon followed
by Olympic teammates Lisa Leslie and Ruthie Bolton-Holifield. |
| October30,
1996 | Eight cities are selected
as the WNBA's charter teams: Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York,
Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah. |
| January
22, 1997 | The league's first
16 players are assigned to their teams. They own 11 Olympic gold medals and nine
NCAA championships. All 16 have been members of All-America teams. |
| February
27, 1997 | The WNBA holds its
Elite Draft for 16 signed veteran players. Dena Head is the first selection. |
| April
19 - 22, 1997 | The first-ever
WNBA WNBA Pre-Draft Camp is held in Orlando, Fla., with more than 60 participants
battling for spots on WNBA rosters. |
| April
28, 1997 | The WNBA holds its
draft for college players and unsigned veterans. Tina Thompson of USC is the first
pick |
| May
21, 1997 | The eights WNBA uniforms
are unveiled at Madison Square Garden. In conjunction with General Motors and
Champion, the WNBA also announces a joint effort to raise funds and awareness
for the National Association of Breast Cancer Organizations. |
| May
22, 1997 | The finals two active
roster spots and four developmental players on each team are allocated. By season's
tipoff, the four developmental players will be down to two. |
| May
28, 1997 | Individual team training
camps open. |
| June
10, 1997 | Preseason exhibition
games begin with Charlotte facing Houston at Rice University and Cleveland taking
on New York at the University of Connecticut. |
| June
21, 1997 | The inaugural WNBA
season begins. |
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