Ace announcer and a lot more — that’s Betty Ann Boeving

By Judy Richter

Fans of Stanford women’s basketball have come to appreciate announcer Betty Ann Boeving for the role she plays in their enjoyment of the games.

Unlike announcers at some other venues, she strikes just the right balance. She’s not raucous or loud, drawing attention to herself. Instead, she’s a bit low key, providing factual information while helping to boost fans’ energy and enthusiasm.

Now in her 10th season at the Maples microphone, “I enjoy the connection with the fans and keeping people engaged in the game,” she said in a recent telephone interview. Her goal is to “turn the game into an experience” without detracting from the team.

The Menlo Park resident has amassed quite an impressive resume since her 1997 graduation from the University of Oregon, where she majored in broadcast journalism and international studies and played basketball as a small forward for four years. She still holds the school record for single-season three-point shooting percentage. Two years later she went to Stanford and earned her master’s degree in international conflict resolution in 2000.

Since July 2007, she has served as executive director of the Martin Family Foundation, which — among other philanthropic activities — supports education reform in East Palo Alto through the Ravenswood Education Foundation. Eff and Patty Martin also sponsor freshman forward Nneka Ogwumike’s scholarship.

Betty Ann also works with Wellspring, a resource for Christian spiritual growth that shares the Martin Family Foundation’s office in Menlo Park. In addition, she is active in the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church’s community and world outreach programs. They include its Ethiopia Initiative, which seeks to alleviate poverty in that African nation.

Prior to her work with the Martin Foundation, Betty Ann was the West Coast director of development for International Justice Mission. This Christian-based human rights group secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. In 2006 she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of and $45,000 for the group’s work around the world.

In addition to everything else she does, her personal and professional interests — which include leading Stanford alumni tours with a Stanford professor once a year — have taken her around the world to all seven continents and 75 countries. The 2002 Stanford tour took 88 people around the world to 11 countries in 27 days. “It’s really a blast,” she said. “The Stanford connections around the world are wonderful and are truly everywhere.”

Her first basketball-related broadcast job came a few months after she graduated from college. Fox Sports Network asked her to announce a women’s game between Stanford and Colorado. During that gig, she interviewed Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer about her recent book, “Shooting From the Outside,” which chronicles her experiences coaching the USA women’s Olympic basketball team to the gold medal in1996. Betty Ann had known Tara for a long time before that, having attended her hoops camp for five years, then coaching there another five years.

Later, Tara suggested that she try out for the job as announcer for the 1998-99 women’s basketball team. Betty Ann thought she might face some competition. Instead, “I just showed up the first night” in November 1998, and the job was hers, much to her delight. “It’s the one constant in my life that has been there for me to come back to year after year,” she said.

Her game day routine stays pretty much the same. For a 7 p.m. game, she arrives at Maples at 6 p.m. and goes to the media room to get the visitors’ starting lineup and the pronunciation of all names. If a pronunciation is unusual, she writes it phonetically. After that, she goes to the media’s pre-game dinner.

Once she takes her post at the scorers’ table, she checks the microphone and coordinates with the production crew in a side room. For example, she tells them who’s starting for Stanford so they can display the right head shots when the lineup is introduced. The producer tells her which sponsors are being featured during timeouts.

Shortly before the game starts, she asks the crowd to rise for the National Anthem. After a few more minutes, the band plays “All Right Now,” and it’s time to ask the crowd to respect the visiting team as its starters are introduced. Then she gets the crowd fired up for the Cardinal starters. It was her idea to ask the crowd to stand for the opening tipoff.

She announces the various contests during timeouts as well the halftime entertainment. After the game, she announces the final statistics.

During the game itself, she names scorers for each side and keeps an eye on the referees when they call a violation or personal foul. If a free throw is needed, she says who’s on the line for how many shots. She keeps track of the players’ and teams’ fouls.

Her trademark call for a traveling violation is “too many steps.” She also is remembered for “Brooke with the hook,” announced whenever forward Brooke Smith (’07) scored with one of her signature shots. She got the idea for that in a dream, she said.

Then there was the infamous blooper in January 2008. She returned home from Ethiopia that day, took a nap and went to the game despite her jet lag. She did fine until she had to do a plug for Outback Steakhouse. Sure enough, she said, “Outhouse Steakhouse.” She’s had a hard time living that one down.

As for the team itself, Betty Ann said she admires Tara and associate head coach Amy Tucker for their coaching and for the strong support they get from former players. With this year’s players, “Everybody is invited to be a contributor” on a team that no longer has superstar guard Candice Wiggins, who graduated in June.

And as the team’s long-time announcer, “I enjoy the connection with the game and keeping people engaged in the game,” she concluded.

Jayne: What is Shaboooya?

Jeanette demonstrates her go-to dance moves

Morgan Clyburn: Robo-Feet

Morgan tells us about the operations on her feet and what it's like to have Michelle as a roommate.

Ashley Cimino: 3242 miles from home

This video interview of Ashley reveals the useless talent that she and Hannah have in common.

Michelle Harrison: Meeesh or Mish?

This video interview of Michelle reveals her secret ambition and what she likes about Brad Pitt.

Recruiting stays on front burner for coaches

By Judy Richter

Head coach Tara VanDerveer wasn’t quite exaggerating when she said, “It’s always recruiting time.” She was responding to a young girl who had asked her about recruiting for the Stanford women’s basketball team during the tent after the Fresno game.

Continuing her response, Tara said that she and her fellow coaches look for girls who have strong offensive skills and who are good students with a good attitude and a willingness to share the ball. “It’s nice if you’re big,” she added.

Because Tara is so busy with the team during the academic year, most of the recruiting is done by her coaching staff – associate head coach Amy Tucker and assistant coaches Kate Paye and Bobbie Kelsey. Amy coordinates their efforts. She recently talked about the process during an interview in her office.

With the two 2009 recruits already signed, the coaches are concentrating on high school juniors, who will graduate in 2010. Most of them already know which colleges want them. Stanford has narrowed its list to fewer than a dozen players, Amy said. The process for recruiters will become most intense shortly before the signing period in November.

The scouting and recruiting process is governed by NCAA rules, which are very specific about contacts with players and their families. (For a taste of the NCAA’s strictness on just one aspect of recruiting, see NCAA Booster Rules on the Fast Break Club site.)

Promising young players, some as young as 13 but more often in high school, tend to come to Stanford’s attention through unsolicited contacts by parents, coaches, the girls themselves and even some donors. Sometimes, though, a girl’s talent results in a widely known reputation. One such player was guard Candice Wiggins, who graduated from Stanford this year after four stellar years. “She was so exceptionally good at a young age that everyone knew abut her,” Amy said.

No matter how glowing the recommendations or the reputation, though, “we still have to see them play,” Amy said.

One opportunity comes during a 20-day evaluation period in July, when coaches watch them play in tournaments, usually with club teams. They can watch them play up to another five times during the school year. Each school is limited to a total of 100 evaluations in an academic year, but Stanford usually does between 65 and 70. Still, that’s a lot of traveling for the three recruiting coaches.

Stanford also may invite prospects of any age to attend Tara’s hoops camp during the summer.

A college can offer athletic scholarships to prospects at any time, but in Stanford’s case, “we still have to warn them that nothing is final until the admissions office has its say,” Amy said. NCAA rules limit women’s basketball teams to 15 scholarship players. In addition, they may have walk-on players. Stanford’s last walk-on player was guard Markisha Coleman, who graduated in 2007.

For players, the recruiting process is most intense during their junior years, when they can receive e-mails and letters from teams. The best players often are inundated with correspondence.

A player may make an unofficial visit to a college at almost any time. The exceptions, which include Dec. 24 and 25 and the NCAA tournament, are called dead periods. She is allowed to make official visits during her senior year only. She may make only one official visit per school with a limit of five schools. It’s a 48-hour visit for which the school pays all of the girl’s expenses. It pays for her parents’ meals and lodging only.

During official visits, each Stanford player hosts a prospect and joins her and the coaching staff at dinner. The players then share their impressions with the coaches. “They are a big part of the process,” Amy said.

The questions that Stanford coaches hear most often from recruits concern how Cardinal athletes combine sports and academics and how they manage their time. They also ask about the program itself and want to know where and how they would fit in.

The coaching staff also makes a home visit during the senior year – usually after they know a player has been admitted. It’s a more casual visit that allows the coaches, players and their families to become better acquainted.

The success that the team enjoyed last year – reaching the championship game of the NCAA tournament – “makes Stanford more appealing to kids, but it still doesn’t help them get admitted. It helps in name recognition,” Amy said.

Stanford and the Ivy League schools – Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale – don’t reserve admission slots for athletes. That’s different from the way other colleges operate. Instead, “we operate totally through the admissions process,” Amy said. That means if the admissions office doesn’t accept a girl, she’s out, no matter how skilled she is as a basketball player.

“There’s no way around it,” she said. The same holds true for all other sports at Stanford and the Ivies. “It’s a very different experience than recruiting for other places.” To ease the admission process somewhat, Stanford and the Ivies have adopted a uniform application form so that a student doesn’t have to fill out many different forms.

When considering players, “we tend to look for the best players we can get,” Amy said. Later the coaches consider what the team’s needs might be in a given year.

Because of Stanford’s strict admissions standards, the coaches can’t go just on a player’s talent. “We work with very bright kids,” Amy said.

The coaches also look at a girl’s personal qualities. “You hope you get the whole package. This is not a place for kids who are selfish. They have to have a positive attitude and work hard,” she said.

This article only touches on the NCAA’s strict recruiting rules. For details, see the NCAA Off-Campus Recruiting Guide.

“We follow the rules,” Amy said, adding that Stanford has never had a major recruiting infraction in any sport.

Hannah Donaghe's Engaging Video Interview

This video interview of sophomore guard Hannah Donaghe answers some important Stanford women's basketball questions such as who is the "greenest" Cardinal, which teammate would most likely help plant a tree, who has best dancing moves and who else can challenge the best dancer.

Tara's Video Interview on 12/9/08

Tara answers questions about the progress of her players, talks about the upcoming game vs Fresno State and the important road games in the south against Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Videographers focus on women’s basketball team

By Judy Richter

On the surface, it wouldn’t appear that a musician and a graphic artist have much in common with a championship-contending basketball team. Nevertheless, Bud Anderson and Sarah Boruta use those talents as videographers for the Stanford women’s team. Both in their first year with the team, Bud is the director of video operations while Sarah is the videography intern.

The recently married Bud is a singer and composer, part of a men’s quartet, Hookslide, that performed during halftime of the Minnesota game, sang the national anthem for the Rutgers game and entertained at the auction afterward. He also founded PSF PRO, a multimedia company that provides promotional tools to entertainers and businesses.

Sarah graduated in June from Ferris State University in her home state of Michigan with degrees in graphic design, visual design and Web media. As director of women’s basketball operations at Ferris State, she coordinated all aspects of video, organized camps and clinics, and assisted with special events, travel and game management.

They’re using their talents and experience to “provide a new creative direction” for the team, Bud said during a recent interview of him and Sarah. It’s the first time any team has had such positions.

Using music composed and performed by Bud (except for popular songs), Bud and Sarah have been creating the clever videos of various players seen on YouTube and now at the games. Some of them are what he calls the “We Like” series, such as the one featuring guard JJ Hones reflecting on various means of transportation from a skate board to a bus and deciding to run around campus, with a pause to pose by the Rodin statues. That's “We like to run”.

Guard Lindy La Rocque is shown waking up at 3:33, eating a triple-dip ice cream cone, reading “The Three Little Pigs” and watching “Three’s Company” before shooting a barrage of her signature three-pointers. Naturally, that’s “We like 3's”.

The introduction of the four freshmen had them singing a few words in four-part harmony composed and taught by Bud. Eventually he wants to create a music video of the team.

The two “get their inspiration from the players,” and Head Coach Tara VanDerveer helps. The idea is to promote the team as a “fun, energetic group,” Bud said. His goal is to create 80 YouTube videos this season, he said. Every game will have a short video featuring one of the players and referring viewers to the women’s basketball site for the full version. Forward Jillian Harmon was featured first. Guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude was next. “The goal is to create a sense of connection to the team,” Bud said.

The JJ video took between 15 and 20 hours to create, while Lindy’s took about eight to 10. “The players are great,” Bud said. “They really enjoy doing it.” He also is pleased with the positive feedback he’s getting from fans, who often applaud after a video is shown at a game. “I’m glad my sense of humor fits with the team,” he said.

Noting that he grew up in Kansas and doesn’t know much about basketball, he said he depends on Sarah for her knowledge of the sport. “Sarah is a superstar,” he said, adding that she has a good eye for what will film well. Sarah said she has known she wants to be involved in basketball ever since she was a sophomore in high school.

Sarah has several direct responsibilities with the team. She films every practice from a half-court perspective and prepares videos for the coaches to review. She uses software programs that can single out all offensive or defensive plays and specific plays such as three-pointers. The coaches might ask for videos of an individual player to help her study and improve her overall play or a particular technique such as rebounding or free-throw shooting.

She does the same things with the videos of Stanford’s opponents so that the scouting coach can study them. As part of her responsibility for video exchange with other teams, she gets the videos from opponents of Stanford’s opponents. So instead of requesting the scouting video directly from Purdue, for example, she’ll ask for videos from teams that Purdue has played. Likewise, she fills other teams’ requests for videos of teams that Stanford has played.

“Teams playing us early in the season ask our opponents from last season for copies of their games against us,” she said in a follow-up e-mail. “Teams playing us later in the season will ask for our most recent games from our opponents.” However, the Pac-10 has a rule that “will not allow us to give out conference games,” she wrote.

During games, Sarah sits with her laptop at the scorers’ table near the Stanford bench to keep track of what offensive and defensive plays the team runs and to analyze their outcomes. She prints out the results and gives them to the coaches at the half and at the end of the game. Because she does this for all games, she travels with the team to its away games.

Yet another of Sarah’s responsibilities is to design newspaper ads promoting the team and ticket sales. She does “a lot of branding of the team,” Bud said.

Working together, Bud and Sarah call themselves Team Dominate. “We set the standard,” Bud said. Other teams might look at Stanford’s site to see their work, but “we don’t need to steal ideas” from them, he said. “We do the best work.”