Support Staff
CAROL SPRAGUE Senior Associate Athletic Director
38th season at Pitt Slippery Rock, 1971
Sprague, senior associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator at Pitt, has been at the forefront of many initiatives and positive developments over her career which spans three decades of service. During her time at Pitt, she has served as the sport administrator for nearly all of Pitt’s teams and currently serves in the same capacity with the women’s basketball program. Sprague worked tirelessly to provide academic and athletic opportunities for hundreds of Pitt student-athletes and coaches. She is also responsible for Pitt capital project management and facilities and event operations management. Sprague was the department’s project manager during the planning and construction of the Petersen Events Center. Other projects she has played an integral role in are: Fitzgerald Field House locker room, training room, weight room, wrestling room and office renovations; the gymnastics training center in Trees Hall and the lighting of Trees Field. Sprague played a vital role in luring women’s basketball head coach Agnus Berenato from Georgia Tech to Pittsburgh in May, 2003. Since that time the team has enjoyed the most productive and successful run in Pitt history, earning six post-season appearances which include two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a WNIT Final Four showing. Sprague served for five years on the prestigious NCAA Women’s Basketball Committee, helping to land bids to host the 2007 and 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball First and Second Rounds at the Petersen Events Center. In addition to serving the University, Sprague has been active on the regional and national scene of intercollegiate athletics. On the national scene, she was elected to and served on the NCAA Management Council, the NCAA Council, the NCAA Administrative Committee, the NCAA
Administrative Review Committee, and the NCAA Playing and Practice Seasons Committee. Sprague was elected to and served on the Executive Board of the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors (NACDA), the professional association for collegiate athletic administrators. Sprague has also been a leader in the Big East Conference through her service committees that include the Big East Championship Committee, the Big East SWA Committee, and numerous sports committees. She has served as the Tournament Director for numerous Big East Swimming and Diving and Volleyball Championships, as well as the1984 Big East Basketball Championship. Sprague began her career at Pittsburgh in 1974 as an assistant swimming coach. Since that time she has held a variety of positions including program coordinator for women’s sports, coordinator of student affairs for student-athletes, assistant athletics director for women’s sports and associate athletics director for Olympic sports. A 1971 Slippery Rock University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical fitness, Sprague went on to earn a Master of Science degree from the school in 1974. A member of the Rockets’ swimming team, she was a national championship qualifier and also played on the Rocks’ basketball team as a freshman. Additionally, Sprague had a 22-year career with the Pittsburgh Debs women’s open division softball team. As a player, Sprague was a member of two United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association World Championship teams, and as a coach, she led the Debs to five national top-20 finishes. In 2007, Sprague was selected as the Administrator of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She is a member of the Penn Hills Sports Hall of Fame (1992), the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (1999) and was inducted in Slippery Rock’s Hall of Fame this fall. In 1993, Sprague was the recipient of the Women in Sports Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.
MEGHAN BIELICH Director of Operations Sixth Season Clarion University, 2006
Bielich enters her sixth season with the Pitt women’s basketball program and her first as director of operations. She served the last five years as the team’s video coordinator. Bielich coordinates and oversees all travel for the Panthers. She also serves as co-director of the Agnus Berenato summer basketball camps and as the program’s liaison within the athletic department, the University and the community. Lastly, Bielich will be the link to the women’s basketball team camps and its community service efforts. In her previous post, the Bethel Park native was responsible for all aspects in the video depart-
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2011-12 PITT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
ment, Her duties included film exchange, scout tapes, and highlight reels. Bielich also assisted with recruiting mailings and in all facets of official and unofficial recruit visits. Bielich came to Pitt from WCUB -TV in Clarion, Pa., where she held numerous positions from 2002-06, including that as a sideline reporter, producer, editor, writer and director. A 2006 graduate of Clarion University (Pa.) with a degree in Communications, Bielich served as a manager and student coach for the Golden Eagles women’s basketball team as an undergraduate. She completed her master’s degree in sports management from California University of Pennsylvania in August 2011. During the summer of 2010, Bielich served as an interim assistant coach – assisting with evaluations and analysis of potential recruits. She is a member of the WBCA.