FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Women’s National Basketball Players Association recruits Arizona State University as Exclusive Educational Partner
September 13, 2018, New York, NY – The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) is proud to announce a new partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), who will serve as the association’s exclusive educational partner.
Through this new partnership, the WNBPA’s new education program will expand the player development services offered to their members. Designed to advance the employment, social and post-playing lives of WNBPA members, the benefit provides WNBPA active players scholarship and academic student services to explore postgraduate educational opportunities geared toward achieving their off the court career goals.
ASU will offer player’s association members the opportunity to take classes and earn their degree through one of the university’s more than 60 online graduate degree programs. Members will also have access to enrollment coaches to help them through the application process, as well as academic advisors and success coaches, that will stay with them throughout their academic career with the university. These resources will be available to the WNBPA membership while they are traveling internationally as well as playing stateside.
“Through ASU Online we strive to allow all individuals who are interested in pursuing their education the opportunity to achieve this goal,” said Phil Regier, University Dean for Educational Initiatives and CEO of EdPlus at ASU. “We are pleased to work with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association as their exclusive educational partner in order to provide its members with a pathway to a quality higher education. As part of our charter for the New American University, ASU continues expanding access to higher education for students around the world.”
“We will encourage our members to take ownership of the graduate online platform because it will help them achieve greatness as they prepare for their life after basketball. The union recognizes that the more the athletes can do now to prepare for the transition – the more equipped they will be as leaders in their next career path,” said Terri Jackson, Executive Director for the WNBPA. “With the significant majority of our membership having already earned their undergraduate degrees, we see this partnership with Arizona State University as a great opportunity to further their education at a higher level. They are, after all, more than basketball.”
ASU, recognized as a leader in high-quality online education and ranked the most innovative university in the nation for four straight years by U.S. News & World Report, emerged as an ideal partner for the WNBPA education program, offering degrees identical to those given to on-campus students.
About WNBPA
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) is the union for current women’s professional basketball players in the WNBA. The WNBPA is the first labor union for professional women athletes. It was created in 1998 to protect the rights of players and assist them in achieving their full potential on and off the court. The WNBPA handles the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, filing grievances on their behalf, and counseling players on benefits and post-WNBA career opportunities. The WNBPA also serves as a resource for current players, while they are competing internationally during the offseason. The WNBPA encourages players to participate in union activities including executive leadership roles, team representative positions, and global community outreach initiatives.
About ASU
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.