Jackson Nominated for Senior CLASS Award

NORMAN, Okla. -- Dionnah Jackson is one of 30 female college basketball players nominated for the fourth annual Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to the nation's senior player-of-the-year for NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball.

The award's organizing committee announced the list of candidates. From that list, a national media committee will select 10 Finalists for the award next February. When the season reaches the NCAA Tournament in March, nationwide fan balloting will be coupled with results from voting by coaches and media to determine the male and female winner. Legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, who initiated the idea for the award and now serves as Honorary Chairman, announces the winner during the CBS telecast of the NCAA Men's Final Four.

The list of women's candidates includes representatives from 10 conferences. The Big 12 Conference leads the way with six, including two players each from Kansas State and Texas. Tennessee and Rutgers also placed two athletes on the list. Last season's women's All-America First and Seconds teams were all seniors, but three Third-Teamers head the 2004-05 nominee list - Shyra Ely of Tennessee, Kendra Wecker of Kansas State and Cappie Pondexter of Rutgers.

The Senior Class Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - was launched in the 2001-02 college basketball season. It is designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elect to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.

A women's award was also established to encourage a continued emphasis on senior leadership. Sue Bird of Connecticut was the first women's winner, followed by LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State and Duke's Alana Beard.

The Bayer Advantage Senior Class Award winners will receive their awards at the fourth annual Tribute Gala, scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2005 in Kansas City. The event is hosted by the Pride of Kansas City Foundation.

2004-05 Women's Bayer Advantage Senior CLASS Award Candidates
Player, School
Jacqueline Batteast, Notre Dame
Nikita Bell, North Carolina
Steffanie Blackmon, Baylor
Natasha Brackett, Auburn
Ashley Burke, Gonzaga
Jamie Carey, Texas
Jessalyn Deveny, Boston College
Shyra Ely, Tennessee
Katie Feenstra, Liberty
Kristin Haynie, Michigan State
Sandora Irvin, Texas Christian
Dionnah Jackson, Oklahoma
Temeka Johnson, Louisiana State
Lauri Koehn, Kansas State
Cathrine Kraayeveld, Oregon
Sancho Lyttle, Houston
Kristen Mann, California - Santa Barbara
Caity Matte, Ohio State
Janel McCarville, Minnesota
Jessica Moore, Connecticut
Loree Moore, Tennessee
Chelsea Newton, Rutgers
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers
Heather Schreiber, Texas
Charlene Smith, DePaul
Kelley Suminski, Stanford
Kendra Wecker, Kansas State
Dee-Dee Wheeler, Arizona
Tan White, Mississippi State
Tanisha Wright, Penn State

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Jackson Nominated for Senior CLASS Award

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors