Ballard Named To The Verizon Academic All-America Team
6/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 20, 2001
CONTACT: Mandy B. Sciba
NEW YORK, New York -- The College Sports Information Directors of America recently (CoSIDA) announced the Verizon Academic All-America Spring Women's At-Large Teams. One of the nation's top pole vaulters, Stephen F. Austin's Misty Ballard, was among the 15 student-athletes named to the first team in the University (Division I) Division.
Ballard, a junior from Carlsbad, New Mexico, has a perfect 4.00 Grade Point Average (GPA) for her college career as an English major. She set school records for the pole vault indoors and outdoors and was named the Southland Conference indoor field events athlete of the year for 2001. Ballard is the first female track and field student-athlete to be named to the first team for SFA.
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 on the national level. CoSIDA has been selecting Academic All-America teams since 1952.
