Guru Breaker: Sources Say Big Day for Big East and Women’s Basketball Looms for Hoophall 21 Class Announcement

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

The Big East Conference this September will have its biggest weekend at the Naismith Hall of Fame induction for the Class of 21 since former Connecticut men’s coach Jim Calhoun and Syracuse’s men’s coach Jim Boeheim were inducted together when both schools were in the former configuration of the conference.

Multiple sources confirmed that in the next hour when the new class is announced on ESPN at 11:30 EDT the inductees on the heels of the 2020 class that was finally inducted Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun near New London, Conn., will include commissioner Val Ackerman, also the first president of the WNBA, as well as Villanova coach Jay Wright, who was a prohibited favorite since the finalists for this year were previous announced.

Former Immaculata great Marianne Stanley, who was nominated for her coaching success at Old Dominion and now coach of the WNBA Indiana Fever, did not make it her first time on the ballot.

But former WNBA great Lauren Jackson of the Seattle Storm out of Australia got the necessary votes as did another former WNBA great in Yolanda Griffith.

Jackson is already ticketed for induction at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., in late August.

More candidates also likely got the necessary approval for the Naismith Hall in Springfield, Mass., which recently completed a major renovation.

Another tie to the Big East is likely to be named later in the day when the Hall releases its special awards which has the John Bunn Award, the most prestigious apart from induction itself, going to ESPN Executive Carol Stiff, responsible for the growth of women’s hoops on the network for her involvement in programming.

The Manny Jackson Human Spirit winners are likely to be announced as well as the Gowdy Media Awards for print and electronic that spotlights coverage of the sport by individuals.

More to come.