Husker Student-Athletes Honored for Academic Achievements

Lincoln -- The 14th annual University of Nebraska Student-Athlete Academic Recognition Banquet was held at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Sunday evening. During the event, 239 student-athletes who posted a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average or a 3.0 or higher GPA during the 2003 calendar year were honored. The banquet, which is a result of the generous contribution made by Dick and Dale Herman, is sponsored by the University of Nebraska Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

ESPN football analyst and former NCAA Today’s Top Eight winner Trev Alberts was the emcee for the evening’s event. The featured speaker was Dr. Jeannine Falter, who is the Vice President of Business Development at Duncan Aviation and also works as a consultant, providing coaching and leadership development for both individuals and organizations. Along with Falter, Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson spoke and those in attendance also enjoyed a 15-minute academic excellence video.

The student-athlete-of-the-year awards were presented by Pederson, with senior Judd Davies (football) earning the men’s honor and Ann Gaffigan (cross country/track) earning the women’s award.

Davies graduated with a 3.88 GPA in pre-medicine and communication studies last December. A three-year starter for the football team, the Omaha native helped the Huskers to a 10-3 record and an Alamo Bowl title in 2003. One of four team captains last fall, Davies completed his career with 14 rushing touchdowns, setting a school record for fullbacks. In the classroom, he was a four-time academic All-Big 12 honoree and earned second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in 2003. He was a recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship last month, and plans to attend medical school this fall. Davies is the sixth Husker football player to receive the award, and the first since former Vincent dePaul Draddy Award winner Kyle Vanden Bosch in 2001.

Gaffigan competes for both the cross country and track teams, and carries a 3.88 GPA in computer science as a member of the J.D. Edwards Honors Program. A three-time academic All-Big 12 selection, she has claimed a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll five times as well as being named to the NCAA Division I Track Coaches Association All-Academic Team in 2003. She has been recognized as a WICCCA Academic All-American in 2001, 2002 and 2003. During the 2004 indoor season, Gaffigan earned her first trip to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She ran the 1,600-meter leg on the Husker distance medley relay squad that broke the Nebraska school record with a time of 11:34.38, and scored in three events for NU at the 2004 Big 12 Indoor Championships. During the cross country season, Gaffigan led the Huskers to an NCAA Midwest Championship with her second-place finish to garner All-Midwest Region honors. A four-time All-Midwest Region selection, she led Nebraska to a 30th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2003 - the Huskers’ first trip to nationals since 1999. Gaffigan is the fifth track athlete to earn this honor, but only the second in the last eight years, as Janet Dutton won the award in 2000.

Also presented Sunday were the 10th annual Herman Awards, named after the Dick and Dale Herman families, for the highest team grade-point average went to the men’s cross country team and the women’s gymnastics team. The NU men’s cross country squad posted a 3.330 team GPA while the women’s gymnastics team earned a 3.579 team GPA. The other finalists for the award (in no particular order) include the men’s baseball, basketball and track teams, along with the women’s cross country, golf and volleyball squads. It is the second time the women’s gymnastics team has won the Herman Award, but the first since 1995, while the men’s cross country has now won the men’s award three times, including each of the past two seasons.

Sunday also marked the debut of the Life Skills Award, which honors the team that demonstrated the strongest commitment to all phases of the life skills program, including outreach, education and leadership. Head Coach Connie Yori and her women’s basketball team accepted the award from Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Will Shields, who was selected as the Walter Payton Man of the Year for his off-the-field endeavors in January. The women’s basketball team edged the women’s gymnastics team in the year-long competition among all 23 programs.

Additional awards were given to 239 student-athletes including: 128 honors medallions (bronze) for student-athletes with 3.0 to 3.49 GPAs; 48 high honors medallions (silver) for those with 3.5 to 3.749 GPAs; and 63 highest honors medallions (gold) to those with a 3.75 to 4.0 GPA, including 23 Husker student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall of 2003.

Approximately 800 people were in attendance, including student-athletes, parents, athletic staff and coaches and UNL instructors.