Following the resignation of soon-to-be Hall of Fame member Tim Nugent in 1973, Stan Labanowich replaced Nugent, the first commissioner of the NWBA. Born in Canada, Labanowich received an undergraduate degree in Physical and Health Education at the University of Toronto. At the time he assumed the position of NWBA commissioner he was a Ph.D candidate in Recreation and Municipal Park Administration at the University of Illinois, a degree he earned in 1975.

Having mentored under Nugent, a committed proponent of self-governance by NWBA players, Labanowich became a passionate and lucid advocate of democracy and self-determination. By the mid-1970s, he had successfully exported these principles from the U.S.A to the international governing body for wheelchair basketball. From 1976 to 1988, in addition to being reelected to the position of NWBA commissioner through 1995, he served with equal capability from 1976 to 1988 in yet another elected position, specifically as: Chairman of the Subcommittee on Basketball for the International Stoke Mandeville Games Federation (ISMGF), located in Great Britain.

The ISMGF basketball subcommittee has since become the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF). To honor his great contributions to the development and administration of basketball, Labanowich was named an IWBF Executive Committee Emeritus in 1993.

Labanowich excelled at almost every level of wheelchair basketball. He coached both the University of Illinois men and women to national championships, as well as numerous medal winners in the Paralympic Games. He directed many national and international tournaments, including the world championships.

Labanowich also became a prolific author, publishing a variety of articles and books, ranging from the history of wheelchair basketball itself to the more specific history of the development of the wheelchair sports, to the making of a team. His profound belief in the athletic ability of wheelchair athletes, led to a total commitment to their integration, a conviction he eloquently advanced in an article titled: A Case for the Integration of the Disabled in the Olympic Games. Convinced that the young should be introduced to the game and to the ability of its players, he published a book for children in 1998 titled, Wheelchair Basketball.

As the NWBA commissioner, he served with great distinction, devoting countless voluntary hours to the operation and growth of wheelchair basketball. He lent his eloquent writing style to the expansion of the NWBA Constitution and applied its dictates with great ethical sensitivity. He published a weekly newsletter that for many years provided a wealth of information to NWBA teams, including detailed game and individual scoring statistics that revealed a profound respect for the wheelchair game and its players.

Labanowich was a powerbroker, one who focused on promoting governance by and for wheelchair basketball players. Many who worked closely with him will recall that when he was asked to exert his influence to implement change in the NWBA or at the international level, he would inevitably respond, even when he agreed with the proposed change: "That proposal must come from the teams, from the players."

Stan Labanowich, administrator, author and coach, and above all, a man whose legacy will be his unwavering belief in the ability of athletes with disabilities, and by extension in their capacity to govern the game of wheelchair basketball. As a result of his efforts, as a result of his commitment, that belief has become the ideal that has and will continue to guide the NWBA.