Ann Meyers Drysdale ’79

Image from the Basketball Hall of Fame

Former Women’s Pro Basketball League star Ann Meyers Drysdale ’79 has recently taken steps that will bring her closer to the game she loves. She was appointed general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and vice president of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Phoenix hopes Meyers Drysdale will bring her ambitious attitude, years of experience and winning ways to both teams.

The bold move is characteristic of Meyers Drysdale, who has always dared to tread into unchartered territory. In 1979, she became the first woman to sign as a free agent with an NBA team, participating in a three-day tryout with the Indiana Pacers. Although she was not chosen for the final team, she dared to go where no woman had gone before and made her mark on NBA history.

“This was the opportunity of a lifetime, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” Meyers Drysdale said. “You don’t want to look back on your life and say, ‘What if?’”

Meyers Drysdale first displayed her outstanding athletic talent at Sonora High School in La Habra, Calif., where she competed in softball, badminton, tennis, field hockey and basketball earning 13 Most Valuable Player awards. Her exceptional performance as a basketball player caught the eye of national scouts, and in 1974, she became the first high school player to make a United States National Team.

After high school, Meyers Drysdale continued to accomplish the unprecedented. She was the first woman honored with a full athletic scholarship at UCLA. As a Bruin, she became the first four-time All American women’s basketball player. On March 25, 1978, Meyers Drysdale led her Bruin squad to a national championship, as UCLA defeated Maryland, 90-74 at Pauley Pavilion.

“This is the highlight of my career at UCLA,” Meyers Drysdale said. “It was an incredible feeling to win after barely missing going to the championship game my freshman, sophomore and junior years.”

During her time as a Bruin, Meyers Drysdale amassed a myriad of milestones and records. She averaged 17.4 points per game, and her total of 1,685 ranks third in school history. She is also the UCLA career assist leader (544, 5.6 assists per game) and steals leader (403, 4.2.steals per game). In 1978, she became the only player in school history to record a quadruple double with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals. Meyers Drysdale led UCLA in rebounding, assists, steals and block shots for four straight years and graduated holding 12 of 13 school records.

As Meyers Drysdale polished her skills at UCLA under coach Billie Moore, she quickly became recognized as one of the premier women basketball players in the nation. She showed her talent internationally as well. Meyers Drysdale was a member of the USA Basketball team that won the 1975 Pan American Games gold medal. A year later, she played an integral role of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, which proudly brought home the silver medal from Montreal.

“It had been my dream to play on an Olympic team since the fourth grade,” Meyers Drysdale said. “There was a lot of pride because UCLA had a tradition of great Olympians representing their country.

After graduating UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Meyers Drysdale became the first women basketball player to be drafted by the Women’s Pro Basketball League. She earned Co-MVP honors for the 1979-1980 season. The next year, Meyers Drysdale decided it was time to see just how far her talent and determination could take her. She found herself at a three-day tryout with the Indiana Pacers in the midst of a group of men a head or two taller than her.

“I grew up playing against boys my whole life, so this was nothing new for me,” Meyers Drysdale said. “After the tryout I was certainly disappointed, but the fact that I tried out opened up a lot of doors for me.”

Following her release from the Pacers, Meyers Drysdale found a place with the team as a broadcaster. Since then, she has been a sportscaster for ESPN, NBC and CBS. In 1988, she became the first woman elected to the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame. Five years later in 1993, Meyers Drysdale experienced supreme basketball glory when she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.