KU press release about Washington’s leave of absence

By Staff     Jan 29, 2004

University of Kansas head women’s basketball coach Marian E. Washington announced Thursday that she will take a medical leave of absence, effective immediately.

KU athletic director Lew Perkins has named assistant coach Lynette Woodard interim coach.

“I am very confident that Lynette will do an outstanding job leading our women’s basketball team in coach Washington’s absence,” Perkins said. “We will give Lynette and our student-athletes all the support they need. My biggest concern is for Marian to take care of herself. We will take care of everything else.”

“I have felt for some time that I needed to address some medical issues,” Washington said. “I feel positive that this is the right time to do it. I am receiving terrific support from Lew and his staff, my coaches and, most importantly, my players, so I know the time is right.”

The dean of Big 12 Conference coaches, Washington is in her 31st season as the head coach of Kansas. Her teams have won 559 games, including 17 of 20 or more victories. Kansas has won seven conference titles and six conference tournament championships under her leadership, and has advanced twice to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. She has coached four All-Americans and three academic all-Americans.

An assistant coach for the United States’ gold-medal-winning team at the 1996 Olympics, Washington will be inducted later this year into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

KU press release: Kansas Names Perkins Director Of Athletics

By Staff     Jun 10, 2003

Lewis (Lew) Perkins, who achieved unprecedented success as director of athletics at the University of Connecticut over the past 13 years, has been named director of athletics at the University of Kansas. The announcement was made Tuesday by KU chancellor Dr. Robert Hemenway.

“Lew Perkins is highly regarded nationally, and has had a positive impact everywhere he’s served,” said Hemenway.

“He is known for his integrity, his support of women’s athletics and his ability to help build champions. All of those qualities are valued at KU, so he stood out for me as an ideal candidate.”

Hemenway also expressed appreciation to Drue Jennings, interim director of athletics, for his role in the search and his overall leadership the past two months.

“Drue and I worked closely together to find the best possible person under a demanding timeline,” said Hemenway.

“I am grateful to Drue for everything he has done to help pave the way for Lew Perkins as his successor.”

Perkins arrives at KU after serving as athletics director at Connecticut (1990-2003), Maryland (1987-90) and Wichita State (1983-87). He will assume his new duties in early July.

He becomes the 13th athletics director in school history.

Perkins was honored in 2000 as the inaugural winner of the National Athletic Director of the Year Award as selected by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). He was recognized for his overall leadership skills during the decade of the 1990s and for the numerous successes realized with the Connecticut Division of Athletics during the 1999-2000 academic year.

At Connecticut, Perkins supervised 24 intercollegiate programs and the Department of Recreational Services.

Perkins was instrumental in guiding UConn athletics to impressive growth, both athletically and academically, during his tenure with the Huskies.

His leadership influenced six NCAA Division I National Championships, including four in women’s basketball in 1995, 2000, 2002 and 2003, men’s basketball in 1999 and men’s soccer in 2000. A total of 61 Husky squads earned NCAA Division I Tournament berths and UConn claimed 64 Big East Conference regular season and tournament championships over the past 13 years.

In addition to overseeing the record-setting success of UConn athletic programs, Perkins was also lauded for bringing NCAA Division IA football to the UConn campus. In May of 2000, the State of Connecticut Legislature approved legislation that provided funding for a 40,000-seat stadium in East Hartford.

The $90 million stadium is scheduled to open in August of 2003, as the Huskies will compete as a Big East Football Conference member beginning in 2005.

In 1998-99, Perkins directed the completion of UConn’s NCAA certification process, which resulted in a finding that the Connecticut Division of Athletics was in substantial conformity with all 17 operating principles established by the NCAA in its athletics certification program.

Perkins directed efforts at establishing a wide-ranging Title IX Compliance Plan during the 1995-96 academic year.

Included in UConn’s Title IX Compliance Plan was the addition of varsity intercollegiate programs in three women’s sports, as lacrosse became a varsity sport in the spring of 1997, rowing in the fall of 1997 and ice hockey became a varsity sport in 2000-2001.

Under Perkins’ direction, athletic fund-raising in 2001-02 reached the $10 million mark for the third consecutive year. The UConn Club membership also established a new standard with more than 5,300 members. Success was also realized in the continuing development of Connecticut’s expanding endowed scholarship program.

Perkins also implemented the multi-faceted involvement with more than 25 companies who comprise UConn’s Athletic Corporate Partnership Program. He spearheaded an aggressive effort in the upgrade of facilities during his tenure at Connecticut.

During 1998-99, Perkins supervised the completion and opening of the University of Connecticut Ice Arena, a $4 million on-campus facility. During 1996-97, Perkins guided the completion of two major athletic facility improvement projects, the $14 million Student Recreation Facility, which included the reconstruction and remodeling upgrade to the Hugh S. Greer Field House, Guyer Gymnasium and Brundage Pool, as well as a $2.5 million program which added approximately 1,600 seats to the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.

During 1995-96, Perkins supervised completion of the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex, a $3.5 million outdoor artificial turf field and eight-lane track facility, which is used for intercollegiate events as well as recreation and intramural activities.

Perkins was also instrumental in the formation of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Ice Hockey League which began play in the fall of 1998 with Connecticut team as one of eight charter members.

Perkins supervised at Connecticut the implementation of both a student-athlete handbook and a policy and procedures manual for the Division of Athletics. During 2000-01, the academic retention rate for UConn’s 600 intercollegiate student-athletes was over 99%. Nearly 40% of all student-athletes achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. In the spring of 2001, the UConn Division of Athletics signed a four-year, wide-ranging television contract with Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). The new agreement continued local and regional live telecasts of regular season women’s basketball games as well as expanding live production of other UConn varsity teams.

Perkins is entering his third year of a four-year term on the Executive Committee of the NACDA, which runs through June of 2005.

Perkins recently completed terms on two prestigious national-level committees — the NCAA Championships/Competition Cabinet and the NCAA Bowl Certification Committee. In 1997-98, Perkins served as Chairman of the BIG EAST Conference Women’s Basketball Committee. From 1995-1997, Perkins served as chairman of the BIG EAST Executive Committee after serving as Chairman of the league’s Television Committee.

During the 1994-95 academic year, he received the “Crystal Award” from The UConn Club for dedication and service to the University of Connecticut Division of Athletics and the Distinguished Service Award from UConn’s national championship women’s basketball program.

A native New Englander, Perkins was inducted into his high school Hall of Fame in 1989, and was honored in his hometown of Chelsea, Mass. He left the region during his college days, playing as a member of some of the University of Iowa’s most powerful basketball teams (1965-67), and earning his undergraduate degree in 1967.

From 1969 to 1980, Perkins served as Director of Athletics at the University of South Carolina at Aiken as that institution grew from a junior college to a four-year institution. During his tenure at USC-Aiken, he also was head basketball coach from 1969-79 and received his Master’s degree in education (1975) from the University of South Carolina.

From 1980-83, Perkins served as Associate Director of Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania. He was responsible for the day-to-day operations of Penn’s broad-based intercollegiate program (28 varsity sports), as well as managing two of college athletics most famous structures-the Palestra and Franklin Field.

Perkins is married to the former Gwen Flaum. Like Lew, Gwen earned both an undergraduate degree from Iowa and a master’s degree in education from the University of South Carolina. She served in public education for the East Hartford (CT) School System. Lew and Gwen have two daughters. Amy (Perkins) Macneill, a 1993 graduate of the University of Maryland who completed a master’s degree in education at UConn in the spring of 1998, is continuing her career in higher education administration. Amy’s husband, Brandon Macneill, is Associate Director of Athletics for Marketing and Development at Princeton University.

Amy and Brandon have a daughter, Caroline Anderson Macneill, who was born on August 17, 2002. Holly Halligan, a 1996 graduate of the University of Connecticut, is account manager for MSN@Microsoft in New York, N.Y.. Holly’s husband, Tom Halligan, was the Manager of Player Information for the Houston Texans of the National Football League, and is now in New York City with Aeropostale.

Reaction From KUAC Coaches To The Hiring Of Lew Perkins

Volleyball Coach Ray Bechard

“It is apparent to me that Lew Perkins brings a wealth of experience with him to the University of Kansas. He comes to Lawrence from a very significant university in a tremendous conference. I am excited to meet him and to have the opportunity to work with him.”

Softball Coach Tracy Bunge

“I’m excited to hear that the hiring process is finally over. We’ve kind of been in a state of limbo for awhile as an athletic department and I am happy to hear that the Chancellor has hired someone with great credentials. It sounds like he’s going to come in and do a great job for KU athletics.”

Football Coach Mark Mangino

“Lew has an outstanding track record in college athletics. I am confident that he will bring the leadership and guidance that is needed from an athletic director. I’m very excited to have his support for our football program.”

Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Self

“I believe we’re all very excited to have Lew Perkins selected to lead our department. He has a proven track record of winning conference and national championships, and I think he is the perfect man to raise this athletic department back to the level at which it belongs. I believe that Kansas is making a very strong statement nationally by being able to attract an athletics director of the caliber of Lew Perkins to our University.”

Women’s Basketball Coach Marian Washington

“I’m very pleased and excited about the hiring of our new athletics director Lew Perkins. He has led a very successful program and done a great job of elevating women’s athletics at the University of Connecticut. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

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