2001-02 News

May 7: DEBBIE KILLIPS AWARDED NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

Ferris State's Debbie Killips has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship

Ferris State University women’s basketball senior guard Debbie Killips (Shelby) has been awarded the school’s first National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Postgraduate Scholarship in an announcement made by the NCAA.

A first-team 2001-02 Verizon Women’s Basketball College Division Academic All-America selection, Killips will receive a one-time, non-renewable grant of $5,000 to continue her education next fall in FSU’s College of Optometry program. She was one of 11 NCAA Division II student-athletes selected to receive the prestigious award.

“It’s great to see a young person that has worked as hard as Debbie has both athletically and academically to be rewarded,” said FSU Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic. “She’s been a tremendous ambassador not only our women’s basketball program, but also for our entire athletics department.”

The NCAA presented 58 postgraduate scholarships to 29 men and 29 women who participated in winter sports, which included men’s and women’s basketball, fencing, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s ice hockey, rifle, skiing, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and wrestling. Candidates were screened by seven regional selection committees and the winners were selected by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee. Killips joins Julie Upmeyer (swimming and diving) of Grand Valley State University as the lone recipients from a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC)-member school.

Killips, who was a second-team 2001-02 Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region honoree, recently received Ferris’ 2001-02 Most Valuable Player Award. A three-time (2000-02) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division All-Defensive Team pick, Killips recorded a team-best 92 steals and 129 assists in 26 outings while posting the school’s ninth-best single-season scoring output (402 points; 15.5 ppg) and registering 20 double-figure scoring performances this season. The FSU co-captain concluded her four-year career as the school’s all-time steals leader (322), placed third in assists (429), third in made three-point field goals (109-295) and eighth in field goals made (381-839). The 5-7 Killips tallied 1,042 career points in a school-record 110 career outings (9.5 ppg) while becoming the ninth player in FSU history to score 1,000 career points. A 2001-02 GLIAC North Division First-Teamer, Killips finished her career ranked seventh in free throw percentage (.788; 171-217) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.369) on the school's career charts.

A three-time GLIAC All-Academic pick, Killips also received the squad’s Joan Nelson Academic Award this campaign for holding the highest combined grade point average (gpa) over the previous two semesters. The daughter of David and Wanda Killips, Debbie posted a 3.92 cumulative gpa in Ferris’ applied biology program while garnering first-team Verizon Academic All-District IV recognition for the second consecutive season.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale). Eligibility was restricted to student-athletes at NCAA member institutions, who in their final year of competition, performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport for which they were nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

In addition to the winter sport honorees, the NCAA also awards 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and spring sports in which the NCAA conducts championships, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually.

A 2001-02 team captain, Killips led Ferris State to a 14-12 overall mark this season and a fourth-place (North Division) 11-7 GLIAC record.