15 Facts About Val Ackerman

Valerie B Ackerman was born on November 7,1959 and is an American sports executive, lawyer, and former basketball player.

Val Ackerman is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference.

Val Ackerman is best known for being the first president of the Women's National Basketball Association, serving from 1996 to 2005.

Val Ackerman was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011 and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Val Ackerman's grandfather was director of athletics for Trenton State College, and her father was director of athletics at her own high school.

Val Ackerman graduated in 1977 from Hopewell Valley Central High School in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.

Val Ackerman was inducted into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

Val Ackerman was a 1979 student initiate of Omicron Delta Kappa from the University of Virginia, where she graduated in 1981.

Val Ackerman was among the school's first female students to receive an athletic scholarship.

Val Ackerman was a starter all four years, captain three years, and twice named Academic All-American for the women's basketball team; she was the school's first basketball player to score 1,000 points.

Val Ackerman's honors have included the Brandweek Co-Marketer of the Year Award in 1997, which she shared with Rick Welts, then President of NBA Properties; the New Jersey Sportswriters Association Executive of the Year Award in 1998; the March of Dimes Sports Achievement Award in 1997; induction into the GTE Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1999; and the National Mother's Day Committee's Outstanding Mother Award in 2002.

Val Ackerman has been inducted into the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, and received the National Women of Distinction Award from Girl Scouts of the USA.

Val Ackerman was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

In November 2012, Val Ackerman was hired by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to study the women's game and come up with recommendations for improvement.

Val Ackerman conveyed preliminary conclusions in a presentation at a Women's Basketball Coaches Association convention, and followed up with a formal written report in June 2013.