NEW YORK — Longtime NBA executive Don Vaden, who served as an NBA official for 15 seasons, has been named Vice President, Referee Operations and Director of Officiating Programs, WNBA, it was announced today by WNBA President Lisa Borders.

In his new position, Vaden will be responsible for the day-to-day management and on-court performance of the WNBA’s officiating staff. He will also oversee the recruiting, training and development of all WNBA officials.  Vaden will report to Mike Bantom, Executive Vice President, Referee Operations, and his new role will begin immediately.

“Don has been an invaluable part of the NBA for more than 25 years, both as an NBA official and as a member of the Referee Operations management team,” said Borders.  “His experience and knowledge of Referee Operations make Don an outstanding choice to lead the WNBA’s officiating program.”

In addition to his new role with the WNBA, Vaden will continue to serve as a member of the NBA Referee Operations staff, where he has been for more than 10 years in various management positions. He will be involved in the process of evaluating and training top level NBA D-League candidates for the NBA and WNBA.

During Vaden’s 15-season officiating career with the NBA, he worked 854 regular season games and 59 Playoffs and Finals games before retiring in 2002.

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