Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Website
Full List Of Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidates (PDF)

University of Evansville senior women’s basketball player Rebekah Parker (Silver Lake, Ind./Tippecanoe Valley) has been named as one of 30 national candidates for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which is presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year in eight different sports.

Originally launched in 2001, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award program focuses on the “Four?C’s” of classroom, character, community, and competition.  An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award honors the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.  Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA, will award the winners with trophies during the respective men’s and women’s NCAA Final Four weekends.

Parker was selected as one of 30 initial finalists for the women’s Senior CLASS Award after excelling both on and off of the court for the Purple Aces.  On the court, Parker has been a two-time all-MVC and two-time MVC Scholar-Athlete selection at UE, while also earning MVC All-Freshman Team honors as a rookie in 2004-05.  She recently became just the second Lady Ace in UE history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 250 assists for a career, and she earned MVC Defensive Player of the Year honors last year as a junior.

Off of the court, Parker has been heavily involved in the community, taking part in such community activities as the Greater Evansville Race For The Cure, the Women’s Hoops For The Cure, Habitat for Humanity, Evansville’s Main Street Trick-or-Treat, and the Missouri Valley Conference’s “Just Read” program.  Parker has also served as a youth mentor and has been a student teacher in the Evansville school district.  In the classroom, Parker carries a 3.67 grade point average in Physical Education and Health.

“This is a tremendous honor for Rebekah,” said UE head coach Tricia Cullop.  “The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award is one of the most respected awards in women’s college basketball, and for Rebekah to be one of 30 candidates for the award says a great deal about her not only as a player, but also as a person.

“Rebekah is a very deserving candidate for the award, as she is the complete package both on and off of the court.  She is a great ambassador for our program and our university.”

From the list of 30 candidates for each gender, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in January, 2008.  Those ten names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote during the NCAA Tournament in March.  Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the male and female recipients.

The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman.  Previous winners of the men’s award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph’s (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006), and Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007).

Recipients of the women’s award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005), Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006), and Alison Bales of Duke (2007).  For more information on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS?Award, fans can visit www.seniorclassaward.com.