35 Facts About Ann Meyers

Ann Meyers Drysdale was born on Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26,1955 and is an American retired pro basketball player and a sportscaster.

Ann Meyers was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and at professional levels.

Ann Meyers was the first woman signed to a four-year college athletic scholarship, at UCLA.

Ann Meyers was the first woman to sign a contract with a National Basketball Association team, the 1979 Indiana Pacers, for $50,000.

Ann Meyers was president and general manager for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and a vice president for the NBA's Phoenix Suns.

Ann Meyers is a vice president for the Phoenix Mercury and a color analyst for the Phoenix Suns television broadcasts.

In 1993, Ann Meyers was one of the first women players inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and in the inaugural class at the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Ann Meyers was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007 and into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

Ann Meyers was born on March 26,1955, the sixth of Patricia and Bob Ann Meyers' 11 children.

Ann Meyers's father played guard for Marquette University, then for the Shooting Stars, a professional team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Ann Meyers attended Cornelia Connelly High School and then later Sonora High School in La Habra, California, where she was able to engage in more competitive play.

Ann Meyers earned thirteen Most Valuable Player awards in high school sports.

In 1974, Ann Meyers became the first high school student to play for the US national team.

Ann Meyers was a four-year athletic scholarship player for the UCLA Bruins women's basketball team, the first woman to be so honored at any university.

Ann Meyers was the winner of the Honda Sports Award as outstanding women's college basketball player of the year, as well as the Broderick Cup for outstanding woman athlete of the year in 1978.

Ann Meyers was a member of the US team that won the 1975 Pan American Games Gold medal.

Ann Meyers played on the US Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Ann Meyers was on the 1979 US team that won the 1979 FIBA World Championship for Women Gold medal.

Ann Meyers won silver medals at the 1979 Pan American Games and 1977 World University Games.

Ann Meyers was named to the team representing the US at the 1979 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan.

In July 1978, Ann Meyers was selected first overall by the Houston Angels in the inaugural Women's Professional Basketball League draft.

Ann Meyers decided against signing with the Angels to keep her amateur status and be eligible for the 1980 Olympics.

In 1979, Ann Meyers made NBA history when she signed a $50,000 no-cut contract with NBA's Indiana Pacers.

Ann Meyers participated in three-day tryouts for the team, the first by any woman for the NBA, but eventually was not chosen for the final squad.

Ann Meyers became a color analyst for the team at a time when there were very few women in sportscasting.

Ann Meyers entered the inaugural Women Superstars competition in 1979, finishing fourth, but then went on to win the next three consecutive years: 1980,1981, and 1982.

Ann Meyers has been the women's basketball analyst at the Summer Olympics since the NBC's coverage of the 2000 Sydney Olympics for NBC Sports.

Ann Meyers was offered a job to broadcast the Chicago Bulls games in 1993, but she turned it down due to family considerations.

Ann Meyers served as an analyst on ESPN's coverage of the WNBA and previously worked for NBC Sports full-time as its lead WNBA analyst from 1997 to 2002.

Ann Meyers worked as a color analyst for the Indiana Pacers making her the first woman to do game analysis for the team.

Ann Meyers has since covered a wide variety of sports for major networks in the US, including the 1986,1990 and 1994 Goodwill Games, men's and women's college basketball, and NCAA softball and volleyball.

Ann Meyers served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of women's basketball at the 2008,2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ann Meyers was widowed on July 3,1993, when Drysdale died of a heart attack in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Ann Meyers is the sister of former NBA player Dave Ann Meyers, who played college basketball and was an All-American at UCLA, under coach John Wooden.

Ann Meyers played four seasons for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks.