Feb 26, 2010 8:59:35 AM

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association has established a committee on ethics to begin monitoring ethical standards and enforce appropriate action for misconduct when necessary.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer and former Texas coach Jody Conradt will co-chair the 12-member panel that includes Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale and Villanova coach Harry Perretta. Ten members are from Division I schools. Sue Ramsey of Ashland and Kris Huffman of DePauw represent Divisions II and III.

The group will hold its first meeting April 3 in San Antonio, site of the 2010 Women's Final Four, and will review the WBCA code of ethics adopted in 2006 as its first order of business.

WBCA President and CEO Beth Bass wants the committee to be an outlet for coaches who have concerns about ethical practices in the women's game.

"This is pre-emptive maintenance," Bass said. "It is a responsibility for the WBCA to have the mechanisms and infrastructure available for coaches."

Bass consulted with the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Issues Committee and the American Football Coaches Association before establishing the new panel.

"The issues committee has supported the WBCA looking internally to self-regulate," Bass said. "Before you have an evolution, you have to have some introspection. This is an internal movement."

She said AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff suggested that the ethics committee be composed of current coaches to establish peer-to-peer reporting lines and to ensure confidentiality.

"It is vital for the WBCA and our membership to be active as it relates to ethics in our sport," Bass said. "The addition of this committee is important to jumpstart ethical boundaries in our sport, but the hope is that these standards will translate to better practices among all women's basketball programs."

WBCA Ethics Committee members