2001-02 News

FSU Senior Named To Academic All-America Team

March 12: Debbie Killips Earns Verizon College Division Recognition

A three-time (2000-02) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division All-Defensive Team pick, Killips was one of five first-team national honorees in voting conducted by the College Sports Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA). She joins Northern Michigan's Leigh Ann Dalton (guard) as the lone first-team representatives from a GLIAC-member school. The college division includes all National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and III schools, all National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member institutions and Canadian colleges and universities.

A first-team 2001-02 All-GLIAC North Division selection, Killips previously was named to the Verizon Academic All-District IV College Division Team for the second consecutive season. She led the Bulldogs to a 14-12 mark this past year while averaging a team-best 15.5 points per game.

The 5-7 Killips finished her career as the school's all-time steals leader (322). This past season (Feb. 16), she became the ninth player in school history to record 1,000 career points. Killips tallied 1,042 points in a school-record 110 career contests (9.5 ppg).

Both a 2000-01 All-GLIAC North Division Second-Team selection and a 2001 Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Athletic/Academic Team honoree, Killips concluded her career ranked third in assists (429), third in made three-point field goals (109-295) and eighth in made field goals (381-839) at Ferris State. She presently is listed seventh in free throw percentage (.788; 171-217) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.369) on the school's all-time charts.

An applied biology major, Killips holds a cumulative 3.92 grade point average (gpa). She is a two-time (1999-01) GLIAC All-Academic Team member and represents the program's first Academic All-America selection.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Verizon Academic All-America program, which was founded by CoSIDA in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the past 50 years, the Verizon Academic All-America program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports.

The Verizon Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800-member CoSIDA. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools who are named to district teams prior to being voted upon the national level.

Under an agreement with CoSIDA, Verizon, formerly GTE, has been the exclusive sponsor of the Academic All-America program since 1985. Verizon, America's literacy champion, strongly believes that literacy is a key ingredient to success and outstanding achievements in life. The Academic All-America program is an integral part of Verizon Reads, the company's national campaign to promote literacy through corporate philanthropy, partner collaboration, community outreach, and customer and employee participation.

2001-02 Verizon Academic All-America College Division Teams