NCAA hires ex-Knicks exec Browne Sanders

Former New York Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders has been named vice president of women's basketball championships, the NCAA announced Thursday.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Former New York Knicks executive Anucha Browne Sanders has been named vice president of women's basketball championships, the NCAA announced Thursday.

Browne Sanders will set the strategic direction for, and oversee the operation and management of, the Division I, II and III women's basketball championships, the NCAA said in a statement.

She previously was an associate athletic director and senior woman administrator at the University of Buffalo, where she supervised men's and women's basketball, volleyball, softball, swimming, diving and rowing.

"Anucha's experience not only in basketball, but also in management -- as well as her history as an NCAA student-athlete -- brings a unique and valuable skill set to this important position," Mark Lewis, the NCAA executive vice president of championships and alliances, said in the statement. "Her credentials are impressive and I know that she will bring a clear vision of how to put on exciting championships and continue to grow women's basketball."

Browne Sanders was the senior vice president of marketing and business operations for the Knicks, whom she successfully sued for sexual harassment. A jury in October 2007 ordered the Knicks to pay her $11.6 million after finding she endured crude insults and unwanted advances from then-coach Isiah Thomas.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.