Griffin Earns Big 12 Postgraduate Scholarship

Lincoln - Nebraska's Kelsey Griffin was named one of 24 winners across the Big 12 of a Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship.

Griffin, the 2010 Big 12 Player of the Year for women's basketball, will receive $7,500 toward her postgraduate education. The 6-2 forward from Eagle River, Alaska, earned her bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Nebraska in May before beginning her professional career with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

A first-team All-American and finalist for every major national player-of-the-year award in 2010, Griffin was a three-time first-team All-Big 12 selection both on and off the court for the Huskers during her career. Nebraska's career leader with 40 double-doubles, Griffin became just the second player in Nebraska history to produce more than 2,000 points and 1,000 career rebounds. As a senior, she led Nebraska to the best season in school history, as the Huskers advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 and finished with a 32-2 overall record. Along the way, the Huskers tied the Big 12 record with a 30-game winning streak and captured their first Big 12 Conference championship.

Griffin was also named Nebraska's first-ever winner of the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes student-athlete achievement on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Nebraska's 2010 Female Student-Athlete of the Year, Griffin was also a finalist for the V Foundation Comeback of the Year.

In order to be eligibile for a Big 12 Postgraduate Scholarship, student-athletes must achieve a 3.5 or better cumulative grade-point average in at least two years of intercollegiate athletic eligibility at their Big 12 institution. The student must also complete their eligibility and graduate from their Big 12 institution within 15 months of being chosen for the postgraduate scholarship. A student-athlete is expected to enroll in graduate/professional school within two years of graduation. Three facultry representatives, one senior woman administrator and one athletic director form the selection panel for the awards.

The scholarships were named in honor of the late Dr. Prentice Gautt, a former Big 12 Conference staff member and student services pioneer who passed away in March of 2005. The list of all-time recipients has grown to 249 since the inception of the league in 1996-97. In its history, the league has provided more than $1.6 million for postgraduate education to its student-athletes.