The Carol Eckman Award is an award given annually since 1986 to the women's college basketball coach that "best demonstrates the character of the late Carol Eckman, the mother of the collegiate women's basketball national championship". Given by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), the award is named for former women's head coach Carol Eckman, best known for establishing in 1969 the first National Invitational Women's Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament. The criteria for the award include: