June 26, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State senior golfer Kyle Bragg was named the recipient of the 2009 D.A. Weibring Endowment Scholarship. Bragg earned the scholarship for his ability to balance the demands he faces, both academically and athletically.
"Kyle had a big-time impact year both on the golf course and in the classroom," said men's head golf coach Ray Kralis. "He's a guy we counted on week in and week out. The effort that he put in to make all of that happen makes it that much more special because he's worked at it and his desire is extremely strong. With that kind of impactful year, he's very deserving of the D.A. Weibring Endowment."
The 2008-09 season was a breakthrough year for the Normal, Ill., native. After competing in only 28 rounds of play his first two seasons, Bragg was able to match that total his junior year while finishing second on the team with a scoring-average of 74.4. He was one of four Redbirds to be named an all-conference selection after his third-place finish at the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Weibring Endowed Scholarship was created in 1994 with proceeds from the D.A. Weibring Redbird Classic. The scholarship is named for the former Redbird golfer who later starred on the PGA Tour and is currently a member of the Champions Tour.
Bragg is honored just to be mentioned in the same sentence as one of ISU's all-time great golfer's.
"It's an honor to have my name put in with his (Weibring) name because he's such a great player for the university and he's done so well since then," said Bragg. "Being mentioned in the same sentence with Mr. Weibring is a great honor."
The endowment rewards a Redbird golf student-athlete who excels both in academics and athletics. In 1995, it became the first athletics endowment to become fully funded at Illinois State. In the summer 2007, the Illinois State Board of Trustees approved the renaming of the Illinois State Golf Course to Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University after Weibring. Bragg is the 14th recipient of the award.
The D.A. Weibring Endowed Scholarship is one of 23 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes that are funded by private donors. It is also one of the eight fully-endowed scholarships in athletics.
For more information about supporting Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
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