Congrats Ali!
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The top 30 men's and women's candidates for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award - the nation's premier tribute to college seniors - were announced today, and Bowling Green State University standout Ali Mann is among the nominees. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excel both on and off the court.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Sponsored by Lowe's, the award has already reached its sixth year. Finalists will be selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete. These areas of excellence are identified under the categories of classroom, character and community, as well as the candidate's performance and team loyalty on the court.
The greater emphasis on the off-court achievements of the candidate reflects Lowe's commitment to helping young people build successful careers and encouraging students to use their skills to make an impact in life.
The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award will also be expanding in the 2006-07 school year to include additional NCAA men's and women's sports. Lowe's will announce the specific sports later this month.
"At Lowe's, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We're thrilled to honor each candidate's contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients later this year."
This year's list of 30 male and female candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for basketball includes representatives from 29 schools and 15 conferences for men, while the women encompass 27 schools and 13 conferences.
From the list of 30 nominees for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in February as the conference basketball season hits its peak.
Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male and female recipients. Winners will be announced during the men's and women's respective Final Four weekends.
The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. It was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke star Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season and led the Blue Devils to the national championship in 2001.
Previous winners of the men's award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005) and J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006).
Recipients of the women's award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005) and Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006).
ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
Thirty candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award are selected for both men's and women's basketball each year. Candidates must be an NCAA Division I senior and must have exhausted all years of their collegiate athletic eligibility. The complete list of 2006-07 candidates is below.
Lowes Senior CLASS Award
2006-2007 Women's Nominees
Name Height Pos. School Conference
Alison Bales 6'7" C Duke ACC
Amanda Brown 6'4" F/C Penn State Big Ten
Cori Chambers 5'9" G Georgia SEC
Jazz Covington 6'2" C Louisville Big East
Jessica Davenport 6'0" G Ohio State Big Ten
Dee Davis 6'5" C Vanderbilt SEC
Jessica Dickson 5'11" F South Florida Big East
Shay Doron 5'9" G Maryland ACC
Katie Gearlds 6'1" G/F Purdue Big Ten
Lindsey Harding 5'8" G Duke ACC
Kiera Hardy 5'6" G Nebraska Big 12
Cameo Hicks 5'10" G Washington Pac 10
Kate Hobbs 6'2" F/C U.S.Naval Acad. Patriot
Tiffany Jackson 6'3" F Texas Big 12
Melanie Johnson 6'1" F South Carolina SEC
Tara King 6'0" F Northern Iowa Missouri Valley
Ivory Latta 5'6" G North Carolina ACC
Camille Little 6'2" F North Carolina ACC
Ali Mann 6'1" F Bowling Green MAC
Lyndsey Medders 5'9" G Iowa State Big 12
Katie Montgomery 5'11" G New Mexico Mountain West
Carrie Moore 5'9" G Western Mich. MAC
Navonda Moore 5'10" G/F Alabama SEC
Lizanne Murphy 6'1" F Hofstra Colonial
Shay Murphy 5'11" G Southern Cal. Pac 10
Sarah Pfeifer 6'0" F Arkansas SEC
Armintie Price 5'9" G Mississippi SEC
Noelle Quinn 6'0" G UCLA Pac 10
Jillian Roberts 6'1" F Tulsa Conference USA
Carla Thomas 6'3" F/C Vanderbilt SEC
