Ball State University Athletics
Softball Earns National Academic Honor
October 27, 2003 | Softball
Ball State University’s 2002-03 softball team has been honored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association as an All-Academic Team. The team, under the direction of head coach Terri Laux, compiled a 3.341 combined grade-point average to place 10th among the more than 300 NCAA Division I institutions which sponsor softball. This marks the fifth-straight year and the seventh time over the past eight years that the Cardinals have garnered the national recognition. The 10th place finish is second only to the sixth-place finish of the 1996 squad.
In addition to the team award, six members of the 2002-03 squad -- Kris Burdine (New Palestine, Ind./Scecina Memorial H.S.), Janice Campbell (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia/Auburn Drive H.S.), Britni Clark (Ontario, Calif./Chino H.S.), Alyssa Huffman (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg H.S.), Crystal Newton (Cambridge City, Ind./Lincoln H.S.) and Katie Shea (Royal Oak, Mich./Royal Oak Kimball H.S.) -- were named NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes. BSU’s six selections are the second highest total in school history.
The NFCA All-Academic awards are open to all NCAA Division I programs, which sponsor softball. A student-athlete must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 or better to be named an NFCA Scholar-Athlete. The GPA is based on the entire academic year. Eleven members of the Cardinals’ 2002-03 roster compiled 3.0 or better GPAs last year.
Campbell and Shea completed their careers last spring as four-time NFHCA Scholar-Athlete selections. Burdine is a three-time recipient, while Clark, Huffman and Newton are first-time honorees. Shea, who graduated Magna cum Laude last May with a 3.82 GPA, earned 2003 Verizon First Team Academic All-America honors for the second-straight year. Burdine, a marketing major with a 3.75 GPA, was named to the Verizon All-America Third Team. Their selections marked the first time in the program’s history that two players were on the receiving end of Academic All-America honors in the same year.
"It is an incredible achievement for our program to be in the top 10 on the Academic list," Laux said. "It is a true testimony as to what we expect out of our student-athletes in the classroom and a true testimony to what kind of emphasis we place on academics in our program. Our kids take great pride in what they do in the classroom and they are very deserving of this award."
Ball State returns 12 letterwinners from last year plus has added eight newcomers to bolster its 2003-04 team, which opens its impending schedule Feb. 27-28 at the Kentucky Tournament in Lexington, Ky.
