SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 25 – The San Antonio Silver Stars announced an organizational restructuring today that will allow Silver Stars Chief Operating Officer Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil to focus all her efforts on the business operations side of the Silver Stars while Head Coach Dan Hughes will take on the role of general manager in addition to his head coaching duties.

“Clarissa has done a tremendous job in finding the right players and coaches to lead the Silver Stars in a positive direction," Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) Executive Vice President of Business Operations Russ Bookbinder said. “Dan has done a great job of creating a foundation for our team and will be responsible for player decisions as we continue to prepare this team to reach the next level on the basketball court. The move allows Clarissa to get back out into the community and be the driving force of creating awareness and support for women's basketball here in San Antonio. We are thankful that Dan and Clarissa are willing to take on their new roles and responsibilities.”

Davis-Wrightsil joined SS&E in 2000 and spent her first two years working to create awareness and excitement about women’s basketball in the community and was the driving force behind the effort of bringing the Silver Stars to the Alamo City. Supported by the tireless efforts of Spurs management, front office employees, basketball staff and coaches, the Silver Stars launched their inaugural season in May 2003.

Over the last three seasons Davis-Wrightsil has been responsible for the business and basketball operations of the Silver Stars. She has worked countless hours with the sales staff to bring in revenues through the Silver Stars corporate underwriting program and ticket sales efforts. This past off-season she spent the majority of her time on basketball by analyzing the Silver Stars previous teams’ development, searching for a coaching staff that would have the ability to move the team in the right direction and adding young, high character players that the franchise could rebuild with.

Behind Davis-Wrightsil’s leadership the Silver Stars ranked first in the WNBA in group sales this season. In 2003, San Antonio ranked second in the league in sponsorship support and third in attendance, averaging 10,384 fans per contest.

“San Antonio is a great city with great fans,” Davis-Wrightsil said. “It was our fans who brought the team to San Antonio. This dedicated shift in responsibility will allow me to be completely focused on building our business and expanding our fan base. Our fans are the reason we have jobs and get to play, coach and work in women's professional basketball. We owe it to them and to the city of San Antonio to give it everything we have to make this franchise successful on both the business and basketball side of things. With a staff that is in place and a dedicated and experienced business team, we are committed to improving and will not settle for mediocrity. That's a promise.”

Hughes joined the Silver Stars in January 2005 as head coach. Prior to joining the Silver Stars he served as head coach of the Cleveland Rockers and made three trips to the playoffs in four seasons. In his first season in Cleveland, he directed the team’s resurgence from a 7-25 season in 1999 to a 17-15 finish in 2000 and was voted WNBA Coach of the Year runner-up. The following year Hughes was named 2001 WNBA Coach of the Year after leading the Rockers to a 22-10 record and to their second straight playoff appearance.

During his four-year stint with the Rockers, Hughes orchestrated some key transactions. His first big move was signing 19-year-old Ann Wauters of Belgium with the No. 1 pick in the 2000 WNBA Draft. Wauters was recently named a 2005 WNBA All-Star and has the New York Liberty in the playoffs. In 2001, Hughes added Penny Taylor to the Cleveland roster and in her second year with the team she earned All-Star honors and led the team in scoring and rebounding. She is now an integral part to the success of the Phoenix Mercury. The Rockers received the first pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft and Hughes selected current Silver Stars LaToya Thomas from Mississippi State University. In her first season with the Silver Stars she led the team in scoring averaging a career-best 14.2 points per game.

“ With the season coming to a close on Friday, I’m anxious to start working towards making the Silver Stars a playoff contender year in and year out,” Hughes said. “There is a lot of work that has to be done, but I know my staff and the players are ready for it. We’ve got a great group of young players and some solid veterans to work with and I know they are hungry to win and be successful.”