April 7, 2006

ATLANTA - North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell has been named this year's winner of the Naismith Awards' Women's College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Friday.

The Naismith Award, presented annually to the men's and women's top college coaches of the year, is the most prestigious national award in college basketball. Hatchell will be recognized at the Naismith Awards Banquet presented by Delta Air Lines on April 7 in Atlanta.

Hatchell was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, a collection of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, based on her coaching performance this season. The other finalists were LSU's Pokey Chatman, Ohio State's Jim Foster and Maryland's Brenda Frese.

"Coach Hatchell did a tremendous job this season, going 13? 1 in the toughest conference in America," said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. "Her distinguished record over the last 20 years speaks for itself. She is one of the top coaches in women's basketball, and we are delighted to include her among the Naismith Awards winners."

Hatchell guided North Carolina to a 33-2 record, the regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the ACC tournament title. The Tar Heels climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history on Jan. 30.

The overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, North Carolina reached its second NCAA Final Four in school history. Hatchell also led the Tar Heels to the 1994 Final Four, where they won the national championship. Both of UNC's losses this season came against eventual NCAA champion Maryland, including in the national semifinal.

This was Hatchell's 20th season as the head coach in Chapel Hill, where she has record of 445-188.

Past Naismith Award winners include Tennessee's Pat Summitt (1987, 1989, 1994, 1998, 2004), Connecticut's Geno Auriemma (1995, 2000, 2002), Georgia's Andy Landers (1996) and Duke's Gail Goestenkors (2003). For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

Hatchell also has been named 2006 coach of the year by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). In 31 years as a head coach, she has a career record of 717-268.