CBPA Celebrates One-Year Anniversary, Looks to Build on Momentum in Providing Greater Support for Current and Future Parents of Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Players
COLUMBUS (November 24, 2021) – Today the College Basketball Parents Association (CBPA) celebrated the anniversary of the organization launching at the start of the 2020-21 college basketball season. The CBPA enters its’ second year as a national community-building resource established with the purpose of connecting, educating and empowering parents with guidance and support as they assist their student-athletes in maximizing their collegiate experience. Membership in the CBPA is free to college and high school basketball parents.
“The CBPA continues to evolve as a national resource for college and high school parents,” said CBPA President Tonya Morrison, parent of University of Georgia Women’s Basketball player Que Morrison. “We’re proud of the strides we’ve made in our first year, but with the amount of change on the horizon for college athletics, we must continue to touch more parents and be consistent in providing resources to help families navigate the landscape.”
In its first year, the CBPA steering committee and staff accomplished several strategic objectives that it will look to build upon in its second year of leadership for member parents nationally:
- Membership: Over 200 parents from men’s and women’s basketball programs at all divisions, including a number of boys’ and girls’ high school basketball families have joined the CBPA since its inception,
- Stakeholders: Built relationships with key college basketball stakeholders including the NCAA, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA),
- Leadership: Increased the inclusiveness of our 20-family steering committee with more women’s basketball and HBCU parents, including boys’ and girls’ high school basketball families involved,
- Education: Provided significant educational opportunities through our monthly CBPA Education Hour programming on topics including parent-stakeholder relationships, COVID-19, physical and mental health and wellness, Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) preparation among others,
- Health and Wellness: Formed a health and wellness partnership with the U.S. Council for Athletes Health (USCAH) to provide parents online education modules to support their student-athletes with and;
- Events: Look to host CBPA events in-person for the first time during the season to increase awareness, membership and the opportunities for members to help other member and non-member parents.
“From the start, it was intentional for the CBPA to not just support college basketball families, but high school basketball families as well,” said LaQuita and Deon Harmon, CBPA Vice Presidents and parents of Oregon Men’s Basketball guard De’Vion Harmon. “We have been encouraged by the number of high school parents that have become members in our organization and will look to do more in providing support to those future college basketball families, so they feel better prepared in their decision-making for the future.”
As CBPA begins its second year of operation, the Association is proud of the diverse and inclusive nature of the 20 families involved in the current Steering Committee to date. The Association will continue to develop its comprehensive leadership group in that spirit, reflecting ethnic, gender and geographic diversity as well as the inclusion of parents of players from all walks of men’s and women’s college basketball.
2021-22 CBPA Steering Committee
Officers:
- President | Tonja Morrison | Parent of Georgia WBB guard Que Morrison
- Vice President | Stacy and Roderick Johnson Sr. | Parents of USC MBB forward Kobe Johnson
- Vice President | LaQuita and Deon Harmon | Parents of Oregon MBB guard De’Vion Harmon
- Co-Secretary | Allison Tegeler | Parent of Dartmouth WBB guard Mia Curtis
- Co-Secretary | Jean and Eric Dixon Sr. | Parents of Villanova forward MBB Eric Dixon
- Co-Director of Education | Carole and Joe Roach | Parents of Duke guard MBB Jeremy Roach
- Co-Director of Education | Malika and Leigh Horston | Parents of Tennessee WBB guard Jordan Horston
- Regional Ambassador | Melissa Smitherman | Parent of Ohio State MBB forward Seth Towns
- Regional Ambassador | Michelle Ambrose | Parent of Alabama MBB forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton
- Regional Ambassador | Stephanie and Eugene Brown | Parents of Ohio State MBB forward Eugene Brown III
- Regional Ambassador | Amy Fuller | Parent of Connecticut WBB guard Paige Bueckers
- Regional Ambassador | Sarah Harris and David Holmgren | Parents of Gonzaga MBB center Chet Holmgren
- Regional Ambassador | Vera and Tyrous Ingram | Parents of Stanford MBB forward Harrison Ingram
- Regional Ambassador | Simone Joye | Parent of Morgan State MBB forward Chad Venning
- Regional Ambassador | Marie and Wendell Moore | Parents of Duke MBB forward Wendell Moore
- Regional Ambassador | K.K. Wynn | Parent of Tennessee WBB guard Kaiya Wynn
- High School Ambassador | Nikki Clifton | Parent of Bishop Ireton HS (VA) WBB guard Kennedy Clifton
- High School Ambassador | Montrice Wright | Parent of Sierra Canyon (CA) MBB forward Kijani Wright
Leadership Alumni:
- Past President | Rona and Kareem Moody | Parents of Arkansas guard Moses Moody
- Past Co-Secretary | Molly Manley and Larry Suggs | Parents of Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs
- Past Ambassador | Barbarita and Gary Springer | Parents of Tennessee guard Jaden Springer
- Past Ambassador | Michelle and Derrick Sharpe | Parents of North Carolina center Day’Ron Sharpe
- Past Ambassador | Greg Brown II | Parent of Texas forward Greg Brown
- Past Ambassador | Ramsey Hardy | Parent of Oregon guard Amauri Hardy
- Past Ambassador | Nikki and Brian Burnett | Parents of Texas Tech forward Nimari Burnett
Co-Executive Directors:
- E. Courtney Scott | Founder of Kontent Incubator, a search firm for athletes and families focusing on bridging the gap between amateur and professional sports
- Luke Fedlam | President of Anomaly Sports Group, a consulting firm that college and professional sports organizations utilize to educate athletes and families at all levels beyond their sport
About the CBPA
Founded in 2021, the College Basketball Parents Association is a community-building resource established with the purpose of connecting, educating and empowering parents as they guide their student-athletes through their college experience. The CBPA is a national, independent association focused on preparing families for evolving issues within collegiate athletics and managing the transition after basketball into a post-graduate career, graduate school or professional sports by learning from each other, along with industry experts. Membership for parents is free at thecbpa.org. Follow the CBPA @theCBPA.
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