Oct. 30, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
Complete with a red carpet entrance, a spotlighted stage and the phrase "And the award goes to...", the 2005 State Farm Academic Excellence Banquet appeared more like a scene from Hollywood than an event honoring Illinois State student-athletes. A huge success, the banquet honored Redbird student-athletes who excel in the classroom and recognized several special award nominees and recipients.
The highest academic honor bestowed upon a male and female student-athlete, winners of the Doug Collins Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Linda Herman Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year were announced. Additionally, three other awards, introduced in 2004, the Impact, Phoenix and Good Neighbor Awards were bestowed upon influential Redbird student-athletes.
The 2005 recipient of the Doug Collins Male Scholar-Athlete of the year was former Illinois State football kicker Stephen Carroll. Though Collins was not in attendance to present the award, a life-long friend of Collins, Don Franke, was on hand to congratulate Carroll.
Carroll ended his career at Illinois State as the most prolific scorer in Redbird football history. The native of O'Fallon, Ill., finished with 271 points scored and also owns the school record for career field goal percentage (70.9%) and consecutive makes on PATs (86). In addition to his successes on the field, Carroll also excelled in the classroom while at Illinois State. The two-time Gateway All-Academic First Team selection was a member of the AFNI Athletics Honor Roll every semester, while being a two-time member of the Dean's List. In 2004, he was one of 36 national players selected to the Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team.
Softball standout Kate Stake has been named the inaugural recipient of the Linda Herman Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the 2004-05 academic year. Herman was present to award the accolade named in her honor to Stake.
During her senior season, the four-year starter at second base received numerous accolades, including Easton All-America Second Team honors and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team laurels. Stake finished the 2005 season ranked in the top 10 in the Missouri Valley Conference in eight statistical categories, capping off her career by being named to the Valley All-Tournament Team. The Buffalo Grove, Ill., native is just one of three Redbird softball players to garner all-league accolades in four straight seasons. She finished her career ranked in the top five all-time at Illinois State in career games started, hits, home runs, runs batted in and total bases.
SAAC president and member of the reigning Valley men's golf championship team, Ryan Brown was this year's winner of the Impact Award, an honor given to a student-athlete who embodies the commitment to excellence. Because Brown made an impact on the lives of others with his outstanding leadership skills, commitment to academics and his service to the community he was honored with the Impact Award.
The Good Neighbor Award was bestowed upon a member of the Redbird football team, offensive lineman Janiah Downing. The honor is given to a student-athlete who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to excellence in academics, service to others and personal conduct. Downing was a member of the 2004 football team who logged more than 1,000 hours community service as well as helping by volunteering his time and assisting fellow student-athletes in their endeavors to achieve their academic goals.
Former men's basketball standout Gregg Alexander received this year's Phoenix Award. Given to an individual who has overcome academic challenges, the Phoenix Award honors those who have made consistent academic progress throughout their career at Illinois State.
Illinois State assistant director of athletics Jane Fulton was impressed with the success of the banquet and was proud of all the award recipients.
"I'm very proud that we can put on an event like this at Illinois State, thanks to the generous help of AFNI and State Farm," said Fulton. "It's great that everyone can come together to support our student-athletes and recognize their hard work in the classroom, as well as all the extra work they do in the community. Also, the individuals who received special awards this evening are so deserving of those honors."
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