BUFFALO, NY - Four-time WNBA champion and 2000 WNBA Most Valuable Player Sheryl Swoopes will make a special appearance at the University at Buffalo women's basketball game against Western Michigan on Wednesday, February 7 as part of UB's 11th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration. UB's National Girls and Women in Sports Day is an annual event that honors female athletes representing the University at Buffalo. It is part of National Girls and Women in Sports Week, a national celebration with events held in Washington, DC and honoring women's participation in and contributions to sports around the country and around the world. Tickets to the UB women's basketball game versus Western Michigan are available at the Alumni Arena ticket office, at all tickets.com locations in Tops Friendly Markets or by calling 888-223-6000. The event is set to begin at 7 pm in UB's Alumni Arena, and the first 1,000 fans at the game will receive an autographed photo of Swoopes.

A 6-0 forward, Swoopes began her career in the WNBA just six weeks after giving birth to her first child in 1997, and she has led the Houston Comets to four straight WNBA Championships since that time. She has been a member of the All-WNBA First Team for the past three seasons, and she was the WNBA's MVP and Defensive Player of the Year last season. Swoopes was the top vote-getter for the WNBA All-Star game and a starter for the Western Conference in both 1999 and 2000.

A 1993 graduate of Texas Tech, Swoopes led the Red Raiders to a 58-8 record in two years, including two Southwest Conference titles and an NCAA title as a senior. Swoopes was named the 1993 National Collegiate Player of the Year and she earned MVP honors at the NCAA Championship after scoring a championship game record 47 points in Texas Tech's 84-82 win over Ohio State. Swoopes had her number 22 retired by Texas Tech in 1994, and she was named one of the Top 10 Division I Kodak All-Americans of all-time. She ranked second in the nation in 1992-93 with 28.1 points per game.

Swoopes played her first two years of collegiate basketball at South Plains (TX) Junior College where earned 1991 Junior College Player of the Year honors. She is a member of the USA Basketball Women's National Team that has compiled a perfect 52-0 record since 1994, and she won two gold medals as a member of the United States Olympic Team in 1996 and 2000. Swoopes is also the first woman to have her own Nike basketball shoe named after her, Air Swoopes, and she is the official spokesperson of the March of Dimes.

More information about UB's National Girls and Women in Sports Day can be found by logging on to UB's athletics website at www.buffalobulls.com.