Georgia Gymdog Mary Beth Box and Lady Bulldog basketball player Marjorie Butler, who each just completed their senior seasons for their respective teams, have been nominated for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year Award, the NCAA announced on Tuesday.
The NCAA Woman of the Year Award honors graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
In all, 517 student-athletes from 21 different women’s sports at Division I, II and III levels were included on this year’s list. The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division. The top 30 honorees will be celebrated, while the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.
Box, a native of Calhoun, Ga., was a six-time All-American, two-time First-Team All-American, and a two-time All-SEC performer during her time at Georgia. She had a stellar career in Athens, winning 15 event titles after starting out as a walk-on. Outside of competition, Box placed on the SEC Honor Roll in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Butler, who will attend Vanderbilt College of Medicine beginning this fall, adds to her impressive resume of accomplishments, both on and off the court. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started each of Georgia’s 31 games this past season and ranked third in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio with 141 assists and 74 turnovers.
Off the court, Butler was the epitome of the term student-athlete during her four seasons in Athens. The aspiring orthopedic surgeon became the first-ever Lady Bulldog basketball player to earn the Southeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor after she was twice named to the CoSIDA District 4 Academic All-America Team. Butler graduated with two degrees from the University of Georgia — one in exercise science and the other in biology.