Former Villanova women's basketball coach Harry Perretta has been appointed to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament Selection Committee, replacing former Kentucky women's basketball coach Bernadette Locke-Mattox.
Perretta currently ranks 18th all time in wins among NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches with 783 victories in his 42 years at the helm of the Wildcat women's basketball program. During his coaching tenure, Villanova made 11 NCAA tournament appearances and produced 20 20-win seasons. His 42nd and final season at Villanova tied him with Yvonne Kaufmann (Elizabethtown), for the most seasons as head coach at a single school in NCAA women's basketball history.
"It is an honor and privilege to be asked to join the WBIT Selection Committee," Perretta said. "The WBIT had an outstanding inaugural championship, and I look forward to seeing the championship grow with my fellow WBIT Selection Committee Members."
Perretta is one of eight former women's basketball head coaches and administrators on the committee. The committee members include former head coaches Brian Giorgis (Marist), Sue Guevara (Central Michigan) and Marsha Sharp (Texas Tech). Ceal Barry (Colorado) is a former head coach and administrator. Also on the committee are current collegiate athletics administrator Kelcey Roegiers (Georgia State) and former administrator Janice Ruggiero (New Mexico), with former administrator Barbara Burke (Iowa) serving as the committee chair. Barry, Burke and Ruggiero are alumni of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee, while Giorgis served on the Women's Basketball Issues Committee and Roegiers on the Women's Basketball Rules Committee.
Illinois claimed the inaugural 2024 WBIT championship by defeating Villanova, 71-57, at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the Butler campus in Indianapolis. The 2025 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament semifinals and finals will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse, with the semifinal games March 31 and championship game April 2. The ESPN platforms will again broadcast all WBIT games, while Westwood One Sports will provide radio coverage of the semifinals and finals to its many affiliate stations across the nation, SiriusXM Satellite Radio and TuneIn.
The 32-team WBIT postseason tournament is owned and funded by the NCAA. Selections, pairings and the bracket for the 2025 WBIT will be announced March 16. Preliminary round games will start March 20 at the higher seed's home court. For more information on the WBIT, please visit ncaa.com/wbit.
