FORMER FERRIS GUARD ERIN MILLER AMONG TOP 30 CANDIDATES
FOR 2007 NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

Women's Basketball Standout Among Top Candidates For Prestigious Honor

Miller was previously chosen as the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) nominee for the award this summer. A committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member schools and conferences then selected the top 30 out of 128 conference and independent nominees with 10 chosen from each NCAA division classification.

NCAA Woman Of The Year Finalist

Ferris State's Erin Miller is among 30 national finalists for the 2007 NCAA Woman Of The Year Award

The conference winners present outstanding credentials as students and athletes. Of the 30 nominees, four competed on national championship teams; 10 were named academic all-Americans; and 25 served as their team captains or co-captains. Twelve were multi-sport student-athletes; four received a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship; and 12 represented their fellow student-athletes on their campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC). In addition, they found time to help in their communities, volunteering for a wide variety of organizations.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors senior student-athletes for their cumulative collegiate achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics. Last year, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) made significant changes to the nomination process. Student-athlete nominations for this year’s award were submitted by each institution and reviewed by the respective conference office. Upon receiving nominations from its member institutions, each conference was responsible for assessing each nominee’s eligibility and subsequently selecting a conference nominee based on collective achievements.

From among the 30 remaining honorees, the committee will determine the top three in each division and announced the remaining nine finalists later in September. Finally, the members of the CWA will vote from among the top nine to determine the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year. The top three honorees from Divisions I, II and III will be honored, and the 2007 NCAA Woman of the Year announced, at a dinner Oct. 27 in Indianapolis, Ind.

This year represented the second consecutive year the GLIAC picked a Bulldog female student-athlete as the league's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. Former Ferris women's track and field/cross country All-America runner Jenny Irwin, who completed her collegiate eligibility at the conclusion of the 2005-06 athletics season, was the conference's nominee last campaign and later became one of the nine national finalists for the 2006 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Irwin was the second FSU student-athlete to be named a national finalist for the prestigious honor in the last five years as former Bulldog standout Morgan Buckner (1997-02), who participated in both volleyball along with track and field at Ferris, placed among the top 10 finalists after being chosen as Michigan's statewide recipient under the previous selection format in 2002. Ferris is one of only six athletics programs from all levels in the entire country to have two or more student-athletes be recognized as a national finalist for this award in the last five years. Since the award began in 1994, less than 25 institutions nationwide have had multiple national finalists, including Ferris State.

Miller received Ferris State's Hardest Worker Award upon the conclusion of her final collegiate campaign in 2006-07. The 2003-04 NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America Team Finalist was Ferris' third-leading scorer (11.1 ppg) last season and compiled 107 assists despite missing the final four games due to injury. Miller finished her career listed second on the school's career scoring list with 1,580 points while both her 184 career made three-pointers and 39.6% (184-465) shooting effort behind the three-point arc also rank second in Bulldog history. The two-time (2003-04 & 2005-06) All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First Team selection posted 13 double-figure scoring outings last season and placed third among the GLIAC's overall leaders in assist/turnover ratio (1.55) along with sixth in assists (3.96 apg) as a senior. She was named to both the GLIAC All-Academic Team and the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV Second Team in 2006-07.

Miller ranked as FSU's leading scorer (14.7 ppg) in 2005-06 and was listed among the GLIAC's overall statistical leaders in nine different categories. She compiled 19 double-figure scoring outings in 2005-06 and became the 12th player in school history to register 1,000th career points. Miller was recognized as a first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV honoree, picked up GLIAC North Division First-Team recognition along with Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region Second-Team honors as a junior.

Miller returned in 2005-06 after missing all but the first two games of the 2004-05 campaign due to injury. She previously reached double-figure scoring in 28 of her 31 contests in 2003-04 and ranked as the Bulldogs' second-leading scorer (17.0 ppg). Miller was the recipient of the GLIAC’s 2002-03 Freshman of the Year Award after being the team’s third-highest scorer (12.5 ppg) in her initial season.

The 2003-04 Verizon Academic All-District IV Third Team and GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree also attained first-team Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Great Lakes Region and All-GLIAC North Division honors along with being among 40 finalists for the NCAA Division II Kodak/WBCA All-America Team during the 2003-04 campaign.

Ferris State, which advanced to the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history last season, was ranked 25th nationally in the final 2006-07 USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll. FSU posted a school-record 23 wins (23-9) while advancing to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Championship Game for the first time. The Bulldogs recorded back-to-back wins in their first two national tournament games en route to the regional runner-up finish. Prior to last year, Ferris had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Ferris also compiled a second-place tying 13-5 GLIAC regular-season finish and earned the program's eighth consecutive GLIAC Tournament bid in head coach Tracey Dorow's (previously Bloodworth-Fisk) ninth season at the helm.

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