2003 to 2004 – National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators

After celebrating NACWAA’s 25th Anniversary, President Pam Gill-Fisher encouraged members to honor the past, celebrate the present, and most importantly, embrace the future. 

“A journey, yes, but we are not alone. We have each other through NACWAA! It is not just a matter of embracing the future, but of extending our legacy…of continuing to improve the educational and professional development component of our mission” (NACWAA 2004 Year in Review).

One of Pam’s many accomplishments during her time as president was developing a Best Hiring Practices manual. Following the completion of this manual with the help of Cynthia Rail from UC Davis, NACWAA joined forces with the NCAA to form an official Best Hiring Practices manual. 

“This manual was created to assist in the next step, increasing the number of women and minorities actually being hired. We have an obligation to continue to grow this profession and provide more opportunities for women. A young child in a class said to me, ‘If I can’t see it, I can’t be it.’ We are the role models this child needs to see and have the opportunity to become” (2004 Year in Review).

The Best Hiring Practices Manual was posted on both the NACWAA and NCAA websites for members to reference throughout the hiring process. 

Other major accomplishments from NACWAA during this time:

• Planned Giving and Estate Planning education for membership was implemented
• Fall forum attendance reached an all-time high with 480 attendees; $53,000 was raised at the Fall Forum Awesome Auction
• Membership reached 1,500 members with over 320 new members
• National office hired two new full-time employees
• NACWAA’s history – a promotional and visual tribute DVD/VHS was created

NACWAA continued to be committed to recognizing the achievements and successes of administrators working in athletics. Click here to view all NACWAA/ Women Leaders in College Sports award winners.

Pam Gill-Fisher is recognized as an advocate for equity in athletics and a national leader in Title IX compliance. She spent a total of 40 years dedicated to the University of California, Davis where she began as a five-sport student-athlete before transitioning into coaching and administration. She began by coaching women’s volleyball, basketball and tennis at UC Davis where she received many coach of the year honors and was inducted into the UC Davis Hall of Fame before transitioning into administration. 

Over Pam’s 28 year tenure as an administrator, she helped guide the university transition from a non-scholarship Division II program to a Division I program that was in compliance with Title IX legislation. Through her leadership, UC Davis won seven NACDA Directors’ Cup awards in Division II and had more student-athletes named NCAA Woman of the Year than any other institution. 

Pam served on multiple NCAA committees such as the Academic Requirements Committee, Competitive Safeguards Committee and the Management Council.