Murray State University Athletics
Bunnage Earns NCAA Degree-Completion Award
6/28/2006 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Former Murray State volleyball player Kimberly Bunnage has been selected to receive an NCAA Degree-Completion Award to help her complete her degree at MSU.
Bunnage, who was a volleyball Racer in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, came to Murray State after completing her associate's degree at Lake Land Junior College. When she arrived at MSU, she decided to pursue a degree in nursing, a program that takes five years to complete, with Bunnage having to start from Square One after using two years of athletic eligibility at Lake Land.
Bunnage sports a 3.2 grade-point average at Murray State on a 4.0-scale.
Bunnage played two seasons at Murray State, ranking second on the team with 3.14 digs per game and third on the team with 3.07 kills per game in 2003. That season, she ranked seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference with a .280 attack percentage in league matches and bolstered the Racers to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament. In 2004, she led the team and ranked fifth in the OVC with 3.91 kills per game, ranked second on the team with 0.22 aces per game and was third on the team with 3.42 digs per game.
"Being a part of the NCAA has always been a thrill," Bunnage said, "and now, being picked by the NCAA to receive an award that will allow me to complete my college degree is a great accomplishment that I will be forever grateful for. My plans are to graduate in December with my nursing degree and become a neonatal intensive care nurse."
"Kimberly is very deserving of this award," said Matt Kelly, MSU assistant athletics director for academics. "She has been a hard-working student and a good citizen throughout her college career. It is also very fitting for her to earn this, because in six months, she'll start a career in nursing, so the NCAA is helping her to help others.
"It's a very selective process. It says a lot about Kimberly Bunnage, the person. She's a well-rounded individual; it's hard not to be and earn this award."
NCAA Degree-Completion Award grants are the result of an NCAA-funded program that helps student who have exhausted their athletics eligibility but still need 30 or fewer credit-hours to complete their degrees. The award pays for tuition, books and room and board for full-time students who are approved by a committee. Often, the award means a student-athlete who might otherwise be forced to abandon a dream of an education can complete their studies.
The degree-completion program began in 1982 with money from the first television contract between CBS and the NCAA. Officials set up an endowment under the auspices of the now-defunct NCAA Foundation, and established the program in 1989.
The application review process has a point system based on a number of factors, including previous academic success, involvement in activities outside of a student-athlete's sport and financial need. There is also a subjective portion of the application, according to Leo Munson, an associate vice-chancellor for academic support at Texas Christian University who chairs the committee that administers the program.
"We will look for something that is within the application that should be considered, but is not within the point system," he said. Munson gave an example of one student who had a heart transplant while attending school. "We will look at people who have those stories, and that's the side of this thing that makes it so much fun."
As of 2004, the NCAA has awarded more than $10 million through the Degree-Completion Award program. About 2,000 students have been assisted through the program, with almost $1 million awarded annually. Of those students who earn the grant, 98 percent complete their degrees.
