Aug. 13, 2012

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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Fresh off of one of its most successful seasons of the last two decades, the rise of Oregon State women's basketball continues to garner the program national recognition, this time as assistant coach Mark Campbell was invited to attend the prestigious Villa 7 Consortium at the Nike Campus in Beaverton, Ore. in early May.

The program, which is a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Sport Leadership, VCU Athletics and Nike that began in 2004, brings together university athletics directors and the country's elite assistant coaches in an effort to prepare the next generation of college basketball leaders.

With only 23 invitees from the 342 Division I women's basketball programs, Campbell was one of the select few able to participate in what has grown to become one of the most respected gatherings for professional development and networking in the country. Since its inception, Villa 7 has seen 83 participants combined on both the men's and women's side become head coaches, including VCU head men's coach Shaka Smart, Memphis head men's coach Josh Pastner and Wisconsin head women's coach Bobbie Kelsey. This year's keynote speaker was Connecticut women's head coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Geno Auriemma.

"I am truly honored to have been a part of this year's Villa 7," Campbell said of his experience. "Mike Ellis from VCU and Lauren Westendorf from Nike did an incredible job putting together the premier conference for professional development and networking in our business. Being invited to this event is a tribute to what Coach Rueck and our team has been able to accomplish these past two seasons."

Approximately 20 athletic directors and 30 carefully selected assistant coaches attended the first meeting in Las Vegas in 2004. Each group recognized the benefit of the forum and expressed interest in developing a multi-day symposium.

The success of the first symposium held in Charlotte, N.C. led the Center for Sport Leadership at VCU and Nike to form a partnership based on the idea that they could positively affect the future of college basketball and help prepare the next generation of college basketball leaders.

"Being a part of Villa 7 allowed me to learn from and build relationships with some of the best basketball minds in the country," Campbell said. "I am excited to bring back the knowledge I obtained to help our basketball program keep developing and progressing."

Campbell will be spending his third season on the bench assisting Head Coach Scott Rueck this winter after arriving from St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. He served as an assistant coach for the men's basketball program during the 2009-10 campaign, helping the Gaels reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history as well as tie a school record for wins in a season (28). Campbell originally joined St. Mary's staff as director of operations in 2008-09.

Prior to his stint at St. Mary's, Campbell spent two seasons (2005-07) at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore., helping the Cougars to the 2007 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Championship. He spent the 2007-08 season as an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men's basketball program.

"It's an outstanding opportunity for those coaches fortunate enough to be invited," Rueck said of Campbell's honor. "Mark's selection speaks to the quality person he is, his talent and his outstanding reputation as a coach. I am happy for him, excited about what he gained from the Villa 7 experience and also what he brings back as we continue to progress as a program."

Oregon State finished last season with a 20-13 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Pac-12 play. The Beavers, who advanced to the Sweet 16 of the WNIT, made their deepest postseason run since 2004 and reached the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in school history and only the second time in the last 17 seasons. The 11-game improvement in the win column from Rueck's first year at the helm (2010-11; 9-21) is the greatest single-year leap in that category since Oregon State's 1990-91 squad went 17-11 after winning just five games the previous season.

OSU is in good shape to maintain its steady progress in 2012-13. The team returns more than 75 percent of both its scoring and rebounding from a season ago and also welcomes in one of the nation's top recruiting classes, ranked as high as 17th in the country according to ESPN HoopGurlz.

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