Yow Honored As One Of Three WISE Women Of The Year
6/10/2003 8:00:00 AM | Terrapin Athletics
June 10, 2003
NEW YORK - Women In Sports and Events (WISE) honored Maryland Director of Athletics Deborah A. Yow as one of three recipients of the nationally recognized 2003 WISE Women of the Year Award on Tuesday. Yow, currently in the ninth year of her tenure at the University of Maryland, was presented with her award along with Dockery Clark, Senior Vice President/National Director of Olympics, Sports and Event Marketing for Bank of America, and LeslieAnne Wade, Vice President/Communications for CBS Sports, at the 9th Annual WISE Women of the Year Luncheon.
"We are honored and delighted to recognize these elite women in the sports business," said Sue Rodin, President and Founder of WISE. "They have made incredible contributions to their organizations and are widely regarded as role models for the next generations of young women entering the industry."
Under Yow's leadership, the University of Maryland Athletics Department has established an era of unprecedented success. Yow and her staff have successfully balanced all nine of the annual departmental budgets, and made dramatic improvements to the University's athletic venues including the addition of an upper-deck in 1994 to football's Byrd Stadium and the construction of the $125 million Comcast Center, which opened for the 2002-03 basketball season and serves as the home of the Terrapin Athletics Department. Student-athlete graduation rates have climbed steadily during her nine-year tenure, and have exceeded the graduation rate of the general student population four times since 1994. In 2002, the Maryland Athletics program was noted by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's Top 20 in terms of overall quality and competitive excellence, and was recognized as a Top 25 program by Sports Illustrated as well.
The Terps' recent on-field athletics success includes consecutive Final Four appearances by the men's basketball team and the 2002 national championship, a bowl championship series (BCS) berth in 2001 at the Orange Bowl and the 2002 Peach Bowl Championship for the football program, a string of seven consecutive national titles for the women's lacrosse team from 1995-2001, a national field hockey championship in 1999 and four national semifinal appearances in men's lacrosse, including 2003.
"It is gratifying to be selected as one of the three honorees, but I will be accepting it with the full knowledge that many, many people have been part of our success," said Yow.
Criteria for the honorees includes leadership in their field, serving as a role model to other women in industry, and general professionalism and performance on and off the field that have significantly affected the business of sports.
WISE, founded in 1993 and headquartered in New York City, is an organization that provides its members with a forum to network, learn about industry issues, and acquire skills and tools that help them develop personally and professionally in their careers.
The 9th Annual WISE Women of the Year Luncheon took place in New York City at the Marriott Marquis. Yow was introduced by former Terrapin gymnast and current CBS sports analyst Bonnie Bernstein. Former Maryland football standout Boomer Esaison and basketball superstar Steve Francis were also in attendance.
