Starks Among Top 30 Senior CLASS Award Candidates
Dec 20, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The award nominations continue for Texas A&M All-America candidate Takia Starks (Houston, Texas) as she was named among 30 senior male and female NCAA Division I basketball candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Starks, a senior majoring in leadership who is on course to graduate in May of 2009, has led the No. 3 Aggies to their school-record 9-0 start of the season averaging a team-leading 12.9 points per game. She plays with the poise and attitude of a true leader, both on-and off-the-court, says Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair.
The 5-foot-8 shooting guard is a member of the team's Leadership Council which consists of players who serve in an advisory role throughout the season and voted on by their fellow teammates. Starks also participates in numerous Bryan-College Station community service events with the women's basketball team and through Aggie Athletics Involved including Aggies Can, the Boys and Girls Club, the Special Olympic Games, the St. Thomas Learning Center, Nothing But Nets and National Night Out.
The Senior CLASS Award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports and nomination is based on criteria focusing on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. The award winners will be selected by a national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will present the winners with trophies during the weekends of the respective NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
"At Lowe's, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We're thrilled to honor each candidate's contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients at the men's and women's Final Four."
From each of the two lists of nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in February 2009. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. In addition to voting by Division I head basketball coaches and national media, college basketball fans will also be able to submit ballots by text voting or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com.
The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman. It was inspired by the remarkable story of former Duke University basketball player Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but returned to college for his senior season and led the Blue Devils to the National Championship in 2001.
The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award is in its eighth year for men's and women's basketball. Previous winners of the women's award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005), Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006), Alison Bales of Duke (2007) and Candice Wiggins of Stanford (2008).
