ESU's Miller Named NCAA Woman Of The Year For MIAA

August 4, 2011-For the second straight year an Emporia State student-athlete has been named the MIAA’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Volleyball and basketball player Brittney Miller is one of more than 140 NCAA female student-athletes representing multiple sports across Divisions I, II and III that have been selected as nominees by their athletic conferences and by independent institutions. Miller was a first team AVCA All-American in volleyball her senior year after being named the NCAA South Central Regional Player of the Year and MIAA Player of the Year. She led the MIAA in kills and hitting percentage last season, finishing 14th in the nation in hitting percentage and 18th in kills. She finished her career with 1,357 kills, which places her fourth all-time at Emporia State. Her season was cut short in the second to last regular season match when she suffered a knee injury. The injury kept her from playing her senior year in basketball where she had earned All-tournament honors at the 2010 Elite Eight as the Lady Hornets won the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The Woman of the Year Award, now in its 21st year, honors female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership. Miller is ESU’s seventh honoree since the program began in 1991. Lady Hornet Cassondra Boston was a top 30 finalist last year. Prior to 2006 the honor was awarded by state rather than conference and did not differentiate between the three divisions. ESU had four Kansas State Woman of the Year honorees from 1999-2003. Nomination submissions for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year program continue to grow, with a record 471 nominations received for this year's program, an increase of 19 over last year. Each conference assesses the eligibility of its members' nominees and selects at least one student-athlete to represent the conference. To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed intercollegiate eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2011 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2011 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5. With the 142 conference nominees selected, a committee composed of representatives from NCAA member schools and athletic conferences will select 10 nominees from each of the three divisions to compose the Top 30 nominees, who will be announced in late August. The selection committee will then narrow the Top 30 to three finalists from each division to form the Top Nine, which will be announced in early September. From the Top Nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will select the national winner. The 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced during the Woman of the Year dinner in Indianapolis on Sunday, October 16.

NCAA examines timing of women's basketball tournament - Columbia ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Future NCAA's women's basketball tournaments might not have to go head-to-head against the men's tournament.

On Thursday, the governing body announced the Division I women's basketball committee will study the feasibility of moving the start of the tournament back one week from its typical mid-March start. No deadline has been set for a recommendation, and the study still needs to be approved by two additional NCAA committees. But the possibility of sliding the entire tournament back one week — and possibly changing game days — is real.

"I think what the committee wants to do is take a really hard look at what's best for the tournament," Sue Donohoe, NCAA vice president of Division I women's basketball, said Thursday. "If they believe that's what's best for the tournament, they will look at the competition days. They're going to look at the shift first and if that is the case, what is in the best interest for tourney dates."

The proposal will not affect the 2012 tournament and is unlikely to be in place before the 2013 tourney either, Donohoe said.

Currently, the women's first-round games coincide with the start of the second-round play in the men's tournament. The women's second-round games are held on Monday and Tuesday, when the men are off. The women's championship game is held one day after the men's title game.

But committee members want to evaluate whether a later start date will increase attendance, make the tournament more attractive to corporate partners and generate more media coverage.

"As a committee, we want to do what is best for women's basketball," said Marilyn McNeil, the committee chairwoman and the athletic director at Monmouth. "If this is the best way of enhancing the championship, the sooner a decision is made, the sooner an implementation date can be established."

If a new March starting date is approved, the women's basketball calendar should need significant adjustments.

The start of practice and regular-season games would likely be pushed back. Conference tournament dates would probably have to be moved, and the recruiting calendar also would probably be changed.

Donohoe also said ESPN, which telecasts all 63 tourney games, has been involved in the preliminary discussions. ESPN signed an 11-year deal to broadcast the women's tournament in 2001 and has broadcast the tournament exclusively since 1996. But Donohoe said ESPN was not pushing to move the event.

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