Simpson Awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Lincoln ? Senior gymnast Richelle Simpson was announced Friday as one of 56 NCAA winter-sport student-athletes to receive a $7,500 NCAA postgraduate scholarship. The NCAA annually awards up to 170 postgraduate scholarships to athletes participating in their final season of a varsity athletic program.

 

A French and international studies major, Simpson carries over a 3.8 grade-point average and is scheduled to graduate this May with her degrees from Nebraska. A native of Toronto, Ontario, Simpson is a two-time academic All-Big 12 honoree, as well as a three-time NACGC Scholastic All-American. She has been named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll every semester as a Husker.

 

A nine-time All-American at Nebraska, Simpson was also the 2003 NCAA all-around and floor exercise champion. Simpson, the 2005 South Central Regional Co-Gymnast of the Year, won five all-around titles in 2005, as well as six individual titles on vault, six on floor, five on beam and one on the uneven bars. On Saturday, she became the first Husker gymnast in program history to win the AAI American Award, an honor given to the top senior gymnast in the nation.

 

Qualifications for a student-athlete to receive a postgraduate scholarship include at least a 3.20 GPA, he or she performing with distinction in a varsity sport, the intention to continue the pursuit of educational opportunities beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student and behavior on and off the field in a manner that brings credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics.