Anne Donovan, Dawn Staley, 1996 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team Nominated For U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

Colorado Springs, Colo. • Feb. 27, 21012

The U.S. Olympic Committee and Allstate Insurance Company today announced the list of nominees eligible for induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall fo Fame presented by Allstate, including USA Basketball representatives Anne Donovan and Dawn Staley as well as the 1996 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team.

Public voting for the 2012 Hall of Fame class also began today, and fans can vote online at TeamUSA.org/halloffame. Voters will be allowed to vote once per day, per category, through April 9, 2012.

The nominee list consists of 18 individual Olympic athletes, five Paralympic athletes and five teams.

"The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame celebrates a commitment to excellence and perseverance and recognizes American athletes who are role models and heroes," said Mark LaNeve, Allstate's chief marketing officer and senior executive vice president of agency operations. "Allstate is proud to protect the legacy of these athletes and their accomplishments while offering fans the chance to play an important role in selecting who will be eternally etched in Olympic history."

Once voting closes, the public vote totals will be added to the vote totals of Olympians, Paralympians and U.S. Olympic Family members to determine the six Olympians, one Paralympian and one team that will make up the 2012 class. The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate Class of 2012 will be announced in May and inducted on July 12 during an induction ceremony at the Harris Theater in Chicago, Ill.

"It is a privilege to introduce this incredibly deserving group of nominees for induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and an honor to invite the American public to vote for who they want to be a part of the class of 2012," said Scott Blackmun, USOC chief executive officer. "With excitement building ahead of the London Games this summer, there is no better time than now to honor the legacy of the great individual and team performances, and make them a permanent part of U.S. Olympic Team history."

The nominees for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame presented by Allstate class were selected by a nominating committee comprised of individuals representing the following areas of the U.S. Olympic Movement: United States Olympians Association, Athletes' Advisory Council, media members, USOC executive team, USOC Board of Directors, one at-large committee member and a Paralympic sports representative. 

Anne Donovan

A three-time Olympian who has won two Olympic gold medals as a player (1984, 1988), one gold as an assistant coach (2004) and one gold medal as a head coach (2008), Donovan is the first person in USA Basketball history to be a part of Olympic gold medal teams as both and athlete and head coach.

First selected as a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team that did not compete, Donovan returned to average 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for the USA in the 1984 Olympics.

She also was a member of the U.S. women’s team that defeated the Soviet Union for the first time in Olympic competition in 1988. Donovan averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game that year, and her three blocked shots against Yugoslavia remains tied for the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball single-game high.

Donovan's nine blocked shots in 1984 still list third in the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball single-competition record book, and she ranks second among U.S. Olympic women’s basketball career leaders with 13 blocks in two Olympics.

As a coach, Donovan helped the USA to an 8-0 record and Olympic gold as an assistant in the 2004 Olympics. Four years later, she guided the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team to another perfect 8-0 record and gold medal as head coach in 2008.

A player on a remarkable 11 USA Basketball teams, Donovan is one of the most decorated players in USA Basketball history. The New Jersey native played at Old Dominion University and was the first female Naismith College Player of the Year in 1983 before playing professional basketball in Japan and Italy from 1984 to 1989.

Having coached in the NCAA and WNBA, including leading the Seattle Storm to a WNBA Championship in 2004, Donovan currently is in her second season as the head women’s basketball coach at Seton Hall University in 2011-12.

She was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Dawn Staley

A three-time Olympic gold medalist, who also earned a gold medal as an Olympic assistant coach, Staley received perhaps the U.S. Olympic team’s highest honor when she was selected to carry the U.S. flag in the 2004 Opening Ceremonies. The point guard played in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics and helped the USA women’s basketball team to three Olympic gold medals and a perfect 24-0 win-loss record.

Slated to be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2012, Staley averaged 4.1 points, 2.9 assists, while shooting 52.2 percent (12-23) from the field during the 2004 Olympics while starting all eight games.

In 2000, she averaged 4.0 points, 3.6 assists, while hitting 100 percent (12-12) of her free throw attempts over the course of the eight games in Sydney; and during the 1996 Olympics, she averaged 4.1 points and 3.5 assists per game.

Staley lists second among the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team career leaders for assists, third for games played, seventh in free throw percentage (88.6%) and eighth in steals.

Staley served as an assistant coach for the gold medalist 2008 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team that won the gold medal with an 8-0 record, raising her all-time record in the Olympics as a player and coach to 32-0.

As a player at the University of Virginia, she led her team to four NCAA Tournaments, including three Final Fours and one championship game. Currently the head women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina, she also heads the Dawn Staley Foundation.

1996 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team

Assembling the first and only resident national team program in USA Basketball history, the 1996 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team compiled a remarkable 52-0 record over a 10-month training period which saw the team travel to seven countries, logging more than 100,000 miles.

Following nearly a year of training, the team went on to dominate its competition and claimed Olympic gold at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Led by head coach Tara VanDerveer, team members Jennifer Azzi, Ruthie Bolton, Teresa Edwards, Venus Lacey, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Katrina McClain, Nikki McCray, Carla McGhee, Dawn Staley, Katy Steding and Sheryl Swoopes rolled to an undefeated 8-0 Olympic record. Bettering Olympic opponents by 28.6 points per contest, the USA’s closest game was a 15-point win.

More popular than any previous women's basketball team, the USA drew a record 202,556 fans during the Olympics for an average of 25,320 a game. The team’s popularity is credited for helping to spawn two women’s professional basketball leagues in America.

The 1996 team still owns three U.S. Olympic women’s basketball single-game records, including field goals made (47), field goal percentage (.662) and assists (30), as well as seven team competition records, including points (819), points averaged (102.4), field goals made (322), field goal percentage (.572), free throws made (142), free throws attempted (212) and assists (207).