LOS ANGELES (FWAA) – Kelly Whiteside of USA Today became the 49th president of the Football Writers Association of America during the association's annual meeting on Thursday morning at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Whiteside, the first female president of the FWAA, succeeds Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World. Wally Hall of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette moves into the role of first vice president. And Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News has been appointed as second vice president.

Whiteside is the national college football writer for USA Today. Previously, she was a staff writer at Newsday and Sports Illustrated. She is the author of two books about basketball and one co-written with Sports Illustrated's Ivan Maisel entitled "A War in Dixie" which was just released this past fall. A graduate of Rutgers University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Kelly resides in Upper Montclair, N.J.

The FWAA also announced the 2002 FWAA Board of Directors.

Those appointed for two-year terms: Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; David Teel, Daily Press, Newport News (Va.); Kurt Caywood, Topeka Capital-Journal (Kan.); Ken Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune; Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI; Eric Crawford, Louisville Courier-Journal; Wright Thompson, New Orleans Times-Picayune; Brian Landman, St. Petersburg Times; Ted Miller, Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Rob Biertempfel, Tribune Review (Pa.); Darryl Richards, foxsports.com.

Those serving the second of two-year terms: Andy Bagnato, Chicago Tribune; Ken Davis, Hartford Courant; Chris Fowler, ESPN; Herb Gould, Chicago Daily News; Brian Higgins, Oakland Tribune; Natalie Meisler, Denver Post; Dan O'Kane, Tulsa World; Tim Peeler, Greensboro News & Rercord; Greg Pogue Daily News Journal; and Tim Stephens, Huntington Herald-Dispatch.