University of Richmond Athletics
Margaret Stender & Kevin Eastman Earn Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Awards Presented By CapTech
02/12/2020 | Spider Leadership
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond athletic department and the Spider Leadership Initiative hosted the second annual Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award presented by CapTech earlier this month, honoring two very distinguished Spider alums in Margaret Stender W '78 and Kevin Eastman R '77 at the Jepson Alumni Center.
The Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award is awarded to one male student-athlete alumnus and one female student-athlete alumna that have earned distinction in their professional careers. The award recognizes alumni for their leadership aptitude and contributions to their professions, while upholding the highest values of Spider Athletics. The recipients of this award represent the very best of our alumni and become role models for current Spider student-athletes. The two recipients had a chance to interact and discuss leadership topics with current Spider student-athletes at the event.
Stender was a three-sport student-athlete at the University of Richmond and was a three-year co-captain of the women's basketball team. Stender graduated from UR in 1978, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
In 2005, Stender became the first employee and served as the founding President and CEO of the Chicago Sky for the first six years of that WNBA franchise. She led the team development from a vision and a dream to a thriving, multifaceted professional organization.
Throughout her tenure as President and CEO of the Chicago Sky, she grew a passionate fan base, partnered with many diverse Chicago businesses, moved to a professional arena, secured a monumental television broadcast schedule, created the Chicago Sky Cares Foundation and built an exceptional roster of top-flight athletes.
In the spring of 2012, Stender launched a basketball and leadership development for girls called the Flow Basketball Academy, which offers year-round basketball development, mental preparedness training and college recruiting guidance for girls aged 8-18.
Prior to starting with the Chicago Sky, Stender worked for 22 years in corporate business in Chicago with emphasis on marketing, strategy and general management. She was the President of the Quaker Oats Ready-To-Eat Cereals and the President of the Juice Drinks for PepsiCo.
Eastman has been involved in the game of basketball at the collegiate and professional levels for the past 40 years and is considered one of the premier basketball minds. Eastman graduated from the University of Richmond in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in sociology after an illustrious playing career for the Spiders. He finished his career 21st all-time in scoring with 1,162 career points and was a three-year starter and team captain during his final two years.
Eastman, a 2003-04 Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame selection, moved from the playing court to the coaching chair quickly after his career finished. He spent 22 years as a collegiate coach. He was an assistant coach at his alma mater Richmond while also making stops at VCU and Colorado State. He then served as head coach at Belmont Abbey, becoming one of the school's all-time leaders in victories before moving on as the head coach at UNC Wilmington, resurrecting the program. He finished his head coaching career at Washington State, guiding the Cougars to two NIT appearances.
Eastman moved over to the National Basketball Association, spending 13 years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers. He worked with head coach Doc Rivers for nine seasons with the Celtics. He helped Boston win the 2008 NBA World Championships and appeared in the 2010 NBA Finals. He coached in two NBA All-Star Games in 2008 and 2010 while working with or coaching future Hall of Famers and NBA All-Stars. Some of the players he has worked and/or coached includes Chris Paul, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Ray Allen, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Demar DeRozen, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
In 2014, Eastman was named the Vice President for Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. He announced his retirement from the Clippers in June of 2016.
Eastman is a renowned author of the book – WHY THE BEST ARE THE BEST: 25 Powerful Words that Impact, Inspire and Define Champions. He has become an engaging corporate speaker both domestically and internationally who inspires in a wide range of audiences. He combines his experiences, insights and stories with his ability to simplify concepts into valuable, actionable and memorable lessons.
This is the second year the Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award has been issued. The first-ever recipients of the award were Leland Melvin R '86 and Mary Sue Terry W '69.
-- UR --
The Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award is awarded to one male student-athlete alumnus and one female student-athlete alumna that have earned distinction in their professional careers. The award recognizes alumni for their leadership aptitude and contributions to their professions, while upholding the highest values of Spider Athletics. The recipients of this award represent the very best of our alumni and become role models for current Spider student-athletes. The two recipients had a chance to interact and discuss leadership topics with current Spider student-athletes at the event.
Stender was a three-sport student-athlete at the University of Richmond and was a three-year co-captain of the women's basketball team. Stender graduated from UR in 1978, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Education.
In 2005, Stender became the first employee and served as the founding President and CEO of the Chicago Sky for the first six years of that WNBA franchise. She led the team development from a vision and a dream to a thriving, multifaceted professional organization.
Throughout her tenure as President and CEO of the Chicago Sky, she grew a passionate fan base, partnered with many diverse Chicago businesses, moved to a professional arena, secured a monumental television broadcast schedule, created the Chicago Sky Cares Foundation and built an exceptional roster of top-flight athletes.
In the spring of 2012, Stender launched a basketball and leadership development for girls called the Flow Basketball Academy, which offers year-round basketball development, mental preparedness training and college recruiting guidance for girls aged 8-18.
Prior to starting with the Chicago Sky, Stender worked for 22 years in corporate business in Chicago with emphasis on marketing, strategy and general management. She was the President of the Quaker Oats Ready-To-Eat Cereals and the President of the Juice Drinks for PepsiCo.
Eastman has been involved in the game of basketball at the collegiate and professional levels for the past 40 years and is considered one of the premier basketball minds. Eastman graduated from the University of Richmond in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in sociology after an illustrious playing career for the Spiders. He finished his career 21st all-time in scoring with 1,162 career points and was a three-year starter and team captain during his final two years.
Eastman, a 2003-04 Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame selection, moved from the playing court to the coaching chair quickly after his career finished. He spent 22 years as a collegiate coach. He was an assistant coach at his alma mater Richmond while also making stops at VCU and Colorado State. He then served as head coach at Belmont Abbey, becoming one of the school's all-time leaders in victories before moving on as the head coach at UNC Wilmington, resurrecting the program. He finished his head coaching career at Washington State, guiding the Cougars to two NIT appearances.
Eastman moved over to the National Basketball Association, spending 13 years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers. He worked with head coach Doc Rivers for nine seasons with the Celtics. He helped Boston win the 2008 NBA World Championships and appeared in the 2010 NBA Finals. He coached in two NBA All-Star Games in 2008 and 2010 while working with or coaching future Hall of Famers and NBA All-Stars. Some of the players he has worked and/or coached includes Chris Paul, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Ray Allen, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Demar DeRozen, John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
In 2014, Eastman was named the Vice President for Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. He announced his retirement from the Clippers in June of 2016.
Eastman is a renowned author of the book – WHY THE BEST ARE THE BEST: 25 Powerful Words that Impact, Inspire and Define Champions. He has become an engaging corporate speaker both domestically and internationally who inspires in a wide range of audiences. He combines his experiences, insights and stories with his ability to simplify concepts into valuable, actionable and memorable lessons.
This is the second year the Spider Athletics Alumni Achievement Award has been issued. The first-ever recipients of the award were Leland Melvin R '86 and Mary Sue Terry W '69.
-- UR --
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