Stephanie Boeke Named Recipient Of NCAA Sportsmanship Award

Oct. 4, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Stephanie Boeke, a four-year letterwinner with the Butler women's basketball team, has been named the Horizon League's female representative of the 2006 NCAA Sportsmanship Award.

The NCAA Sportsmanship Award honors student-athletes who, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics, have demonstrated the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility.

Boeke served as one of the Bulldogs' inspirational leaders during her four years. Despite ending her final season prematurely due to an ACL injury, she was ranked in the Horizon League's top 10 in six statistical categories at the time of the injury and finished as the team's second-best rebounder with 6.3 per game. A team captain her senior year, she concluded her career with 383 points, 343 rebounds and 140 assists.

She also excelled in the classroom, recording a 3.195 cumulative GPA, and was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in six semesters. The Student-Athlete Advisory Council Vice President as a senior, she graduated in May of 2006 with a degree in secondary education.

"I don't think you could get a more deserving player than Stephanie," head coach Beth Couture said. "She is a prime example for what sportsmanship is.

"Stephanie was a leader both on and off the court. Even when her role changed, she was a leader. She was always picking up players off the floor and was the driving force behind our team's community service efforts.

"I'm very proud of her for being recognized, and she certainly deserves it."

Each conference in the NCAA nominates one male and one female athlete for the award. The nominees must have demonstrated consistently good sportsmanship and ethical behavior in daily participation in intercollegiate athletics, as well as good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting and good academic standing. Selections are made by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct.

Story provided by Butler Office of Sports Information