May 7, 2007
STANFORD, Calif.- Former Cardinal standout Jennifer Azzi was recently inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame at the organization's 28th annual enshrinement banquet.Azzi was joined at the Westin St. Francis Hotel by three other inductees: former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, former San Francisco Giants first baseman Will Clark and ex-Yankees infielder and longtime San Diego Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman.
Azzi became the first female basketball player to be enshrined by the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame (BASHOF). The class of 2007 was elected by a panel of 70 Bay Area journalists and broadcasters.
While at Stanford, Jennifer Azzi was the 1990 Naismith National Player of the Year, as well as winner of the Wade Trophy and Honda-Broderick Award. She was a Kodak First Team All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. Azzi averaged 14.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game for the Cardinal during her career, as the Cardinal accumulated a 101-23 record, two Pac-10 championships and its first NCAA Championship in 1990.
Azzi currently ranks second all-time in school history in assists and steals.
After her Stanford career, Azzi's basketball success continued as she was a member the gold-medal winning 1996 U.S. Olympic team. While on the U.S. National Team, Azzi was a world champion in 1990 and 1998, a World Championship bronze medalist in 1994, and a Goodwill Games gold medalist.
Azzi played professionally overseas, in the ABL and in the WNBA until retiring in 2003.
The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, a section 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was conceived by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979. Annual contributions are made to aid in the development of Bay Area youth through The Youth Fund. Support is received from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, its "Partners in Youth & Sport", its volunteer committee and sponsoring Bay Area businesses, foundations and individuals.
The Youth Fund distributes sports-equipment grants to qualified 501(c)(3) youth organizations in the eleven Bay Area counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma). Funds are limited to the purchase of children's sports equipment only.