INDIANAPOLIS—The members of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee for 2021-22 were announced on Thursday afternoon and Villanova Athletics senior administrator Lynn Tighe was named as one of three new members who will join the committee on September 1, 2021. Tighe is in her 23^rd year at Villanova and is currently in the position of Senior Associate Athletics Director/Chief Athletics Administrative Officer. She is also the Senior Woman Administrator for Villanova Athletics.
 
Tighe brings to the committee over 30 years of experience in college athletics and is the current sport administrator for women's basketball at Villanova and the former chair of the BIG EAST Conference Senior Woman Administrator Group. She is a former member of the NCAA Women's Soccer Committee and NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Issues Committee.
 
"I am thrilled for Lynn to have the opportunity to join the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee," Villanova University Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson said. "I cannot think of anyone better to serve in this role while representing the best interests of the sport and of women's basketball student-athletes on a national stage. Lynn's successful career as a college athletics administrator, her previous NCAA and BIG EAST committee experience and her background in women's basketball make her well-deserving of this opportunity."
 
The three members joining the committee in September are experienced administrators and former women's basketball student-athletes. Tighe was named to the committee along with Amanda Braun, athletics director at Milwaukee; and Janice Ruggiero, deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator at New Mexico. Their nominations were vetted by the Division I Women's Basketball Committee and endorsed by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee.
 
With the move of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee to 12 members in 2021-22, it was announced that two existing members will have their terms extended for one year in addition to the three new members added for the coming season. The NCAA Division I Council Coordination Committee approved one-year extensions for committee chair, Nina King, deputy athletic director and chief of staff, Duke University and Debbie Richardson, senior associate commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
 
In January of 2021 the Division I Council adopted the proposal to expand the composition of the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Committees from 10 to 12 members in 2021-22. Both committees will consist of one member selected from each of the five autonomy conferences and three members selected from the seven highest-ranked nonautonomy conferences based on basketball success. The remaining four members will be selected from the 20 other conferences.
 
"Amanda, Janice and Lynn bring a combined 80-plus years of experience with them to the committee and we are ecstatic to welcome them to what will be a dynamic 12-member committee in 2022-22," said Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women's basketball.
 
Other members of the committee for 2021-22 will include Deneé Barracato, deputy director of athletics at Northwestern; Greg Burke, director of athletics at Northwestern State; Beth Goetz, director of athletics at Ball State; Kurt McGuffin, director of intercollegiate athletics at UT Martin; Lisa Peterson, deputy athletics director at Oregon; Derita Ratcliffe Dawkins, deputy athletics director at Arkansas and Jill Shields, deputy athletics director at Kansas State.
 
Tighe manages the personnel function of Villanova Athletics and serves as the liaison to key campus offices, including Human Resources and Admissions. She is herself a Villanova graduate and a former standout on the Wildcats women's basketball team who returned to her alma mater in November 1998 as an Assistant Athletic Director. She has since earned three promotions to her current capacity.
 
The daily responsibilities for Tighe include being the Deputy Title IX Coordinator for the University. She led a recent review of the Athletics gender equity position and contributed to the development and launch of the Leadership Institute for Wildcats student-athletes. Tighe initiated and oversees an annual service trip for student-athletes and Athletic Department members. In 2018, she led the planning and oversaw all details of a year-long celebration of the 50^th anniversary of women's sports at Villanova. Tighe is the sport administrator for several of Villanova's varsity programs and oversees all matters associated with her designated spots. She has also served on the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Committee and the NCAA Women's Basketball Issues Committee, in addition to serving on various BIG EAST Conference committees.
 
Tighe is a 1987 graduate of Villanova, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She was a four-year member of the Wildcats women's basketball team and ranks second in program history in career assists. Tighe was the starting point guard for three seasons and helped lead the team to BIG EAST Championship titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1986 and 1987. She was inducted to the Villanova University Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1998 and to the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame the same year.