The six members of the Class of 2009 are Cooper-Dyke, Jennifer Azzi, Jennfer Gillom, Sonja Hogg, Jill Hutchinson and Ora Washington.

Cooper-Dyke is a two-time Olympian, two-time National Champion at Southern California (1983, 1984) and four-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets (1997-2000). She is currently the head coach of Prairie View A&M University women's team and led the Lady Panthers to their first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title in the 2006-07 season. She was the first WNBA player to reach 500, 1000, 2000 and 2500 points, and was recognized as the 1998 Women's Professional Basketball ESPY award winner. Cooper won a gold medal with team USA in the 1988 Olympics and was a member of seven USA squads.

The six individuals in the Class of 2009 will be formally inducted as members of the Hall of Fame during a weekend of induction festivities to be held Friday and Saturday, June 12-13, 2009, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

With the addition of the Class of 2009, the list of individuals who have been recognized as Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductees will increase to 109.

WILLIS TO LEAD LANGSTON:
With the departure of Donnita Drain and newly appointed head coach Tony Greene, Langston University women's basketball again looked in house and has announced the hiring of Jerome Willis as head coach. Willis has spent the last eight years as the assistant coach for Lions men's basketball team.

"We are very pleased to extend this opportunity to Coach Willis. We believe that he has the capability of not only continuing in a strong program, but enhancing it," said Angela Watson, vice president for administrative and fiscal Affairs. "He is a Langston Lion and possesses a genuine commitment to the student-athletes and the university and we wish him well in his new endeavors."

Willis' appointment comes after Drain accepted the women's basketball coaching position at Grambling State and took Green, her longtime assistant, with her. Green, Drain's assistant for the past 13 years, had been appointed head coach in May.

"I feel blessed with the opportunity and I'm excited about the upcoming season," said Coach Willis. "I expect for the women's program to continue to dominate and keep the winning tradition."

A native of Buffalo, NY, Willis played his collegiate basketball for Langston and graduated in 1998. As a player, he was selected as the Freshman of the Year in 1993-1994, Defensive Player of the Year in 1995-1996 and 1996-1997, and was an All-Conference selection in 1996-1997.

HOWARD SOCCER PROMOTION:
Assistant coach Michael Lawrence has been promoted to head coach of the Howard Bison men's soccer program. Lawrence has been an assistant coach at Howard the past four seasons.

"This is a wonderful opportunity," Lawrence said. "I intend to help develop a culture for the men's soccer program that embraces excellence in the classroom and on the field." This past year, the team earned its first ranking in a Division I poll in nearly a decade after entering the NSCAA/Adidas North Atlantic Regional poll midway through the season.

A two-year letterwinner at Howard, Lawrence was a prolific scorer and was named the Mid-Continental Conference (MCC) Rookie of the Year in 1996. He helped the Bison to a pair of regular season league championships and a tournament championship and NCAA appearance in 1997. Lawrence has played professionally in Belgium, Germany, and for FC Galaxy of the Jamaican Premier League (1999).

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