March 8, 2002

KAYE BROWNLEE RECEIVES $5,000 NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

GREENVILLE -- Furman women's soccer standout Kaye Brownlee was awarded a prestigious NCAA postgraduate scholarship on Friday, becoming the first Furman female athlete to earn the scholarship.

Brownlee, who boasts a 3.68 grade-point average in Health and Exercise Science, is the tenth Furman athlete to win the award as all nine previous recipients were football players. Quarterback Philly Jones was the last to receive the honor in 1995.

Brownlee is one of the most decorated female athletes in Furman history as she has received a number of athletic and academic honors during her career. She has the rare distinction of being both a first team All American and a first team Academic All American.

In 1999, Brownlee became the first women's soccer player in Furman history to earn first team All-America status as she was an NSCAA first team selection. Brownlee also was honored as the Furman University and Southern Conference Female Athlete-of-the-Year in the 1999-2000 school year. Over her career, Brownlee earned three All-America awards, was named to an All-Southeast Region team six times, and was a four-time All-Southern Conference selection.

In addition to being a member of the Southern Conference Honor Roll every year, Brownlee is a two-time NSCAA Scholar Athlete All America, a two-time Verizon Academic All America, and a three-time Verizon Academic All District selection.

Brownlee helped lead Furman women's soccer to new heights over her four year career. Since 1998, the Lady Paladins have posted a 66-21-1 record including back-to-back 20-3 seasons in which Furman advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Furman has won three straight SoCon titles and won the 1999 SoCon Tournament.

The NCAA awards 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their last year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time grants of $5,000 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. 58 scholarships are awarded for each category, 29 scholarships going to both men and women.  The scholarships are one-time, nonrenewable grants. 

Nominees were required to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.200 (based on a 4.000 scale) and intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a part-time or full-time graduate student. 

Brownlee joined Nebraska's Meghan Anderson as the only two Division I soccer players on the list.

The 29 fall season female recipients are listed below: