Fordham University Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Frank McLaughlin announced today that Fordham has signed Head Women??s Basketball Coach Jim Lewis to a two-year contract extension through the 2005-06 season. Lewis is entering his fourth year as Head Women??s Basketball Coach at Fordham, and has the program moving in the right direction, where the team has increased its win total in each of his first three seasons. The team finished the 2002-03 season with 14 wins, the most for the program in seven years, five Atlantic 10 win, the most for Fordham since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995-96, and a fourth place finish in the Atlantic 10 East Division. Last year??s squad also ranked among the most improved teams in the NCAA, finishing tied for the 15th, with a 7.5 game improvement from 2001-02. "Jim Lewis has brought tremendous excitement and a winning spirit to the women's basketball program," said McLaughlin. "We're fully supportive of the program and committed to seeing the program accomplish great things in the future." The 2002-03 team also set new school standards, as they had their first four-game Atlantic 10 conference winning streak, back-to-back road Atlantic 10 conference wins, and their first ever win at Saint Joseph??s. Individually, Fordham had its first Atlantic 10 Women??s Basketball Award Winner, as Mobolaji Akiode earned the Most Improved Player Award. She was also named First Team All-Metropolitan and Second Team All-Conference, the first Fordham player to receive All-Conference honors since 1998. Founded in 1841, Fordham is New York City??s Jesuit University. With 22 men??s and women??s varsity sports teams, the Fordham Rams are members of the NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, indoor and outdoor track, women??s rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball and in the Patriot League (NCAA I-AA) for football.