Nov. 24, 1998


BILLIE JEAN KING PRESENTS NATIONAL AWARD TO U.VA. EDUCATOR

	Linda Bunker, a University of Virginia educator known as a
strong advocate of girls' and women's participation in sports, was
recently given the Billie Jean King Contribution Award.
	Billie Jean King, a renowned tennis player who has worked for
decades to promote equality for women in athletics, presented the award
to Bunker during the Women's Sports Foundation's "19th Annual Salute to
Women in Sports" dinner Oct. 19 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.
Other women honored at the event included Michelle Kwan, who was named
the Women's Sports Foundation's individual sports woman of the year;
Cynthia Cooper, named team sports woman of the year; and five-time
Olympian Willye White, who received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.
	The King award, named for the founder of the Women's Sports
Foundation, is presented annually to a corporation, organization or
individual who has made a significant contribution to the development of
women's sports.  A nationally known sports psychologist, Bunker was
recognized for her books and research that encourage girls' and women's
participation in sports.
	As the Parrish Professor of Education at U.Va.'s Curry School of
Education, Bunker has helped to dispel myths about women's ability to
engage in athletic pursuits.  She has published more than a dozen books
and 100 articles on motivation for girls and women in sports, sports
psychology and parents with children in sports.
	A graduate of the University of Illinois, where she earned a
B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in physical education, motor learning and sport
psychology, Bunker joined the U.Va. faculty in 1973.  
	Her work has been honored by more than a dozen awards, including
the University's highest honor, the Thomas Jefferson Award, which she
received in 1995.  In 1996 she was inducted into the Women's Sports Hall
of Fame.

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	For more information, contact Eileen Campion at (212) 966-4600
or Linda Bunker at (804) 924-6183.