Laurie Bollig
As the director of communications for Premier Sports, Laurie Bollig works extensively with the Senior CLASS Award program in addition to providing services for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame induction, the Bowl Championship Series, the NFL’s 101 Awards, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and various other events and projects.
Laurie Bollig's Columns
UC Irvine’s Andrew Morales sets good example for family
June 20, 2014
When All-American pitcher Andrew Morales from the University of California, Irvine graduated earlier this month with a degree in public health policy, he became only the second member of his large extended family to earn a college degree.
When the Covina, California, native won the Senior CLASS Award earlier this month, he became the second Anteater in four years to win the nation’s most prestigious award for senior student-athletes. Former UC Irvine pitcher and current Anteater pitching… Continue Reading…
Lacrosse and softball winners shine brightly in children’s eyes
June 02, 2014
Shortly after the Senior CLASS Award winner in lacrosse was announced, ESPN writer Dana O’Neill congratulated Princeton’s Tom Schreiber in a very public way via her Twitter feed:
“keeping w lax tweets, belated congrats to @TomSchreiber26 on Senior CLASS award. Much deserved. Made a 10 yr old fan especially happy”
Based on O’Neill’s status as a mother and a sportswriter, it’s not difficult to assume the 10-year-old is her child. Her congratulatory note about Schreiber,… Continue Reading…
Senior CLASS Award turns lucky 13
August 29, 2013
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (August 29, 2013) – Soccer and volleyball candidates were announced earlier this week marking the 13th year the Senior CLASS Award – a Premier property since 2001 – has been recognizing outstanding senior student-athletes.
The Senior CLASS Award, chosen by a nationwide vote of NCAA® Division I head coaches, national media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 Division I sports. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete… Continue Reading…
Time management not a problem for hockey winner Cheyne Rocha
April 22, 2013
Cheyne Rocha is a master of time management.
Somehow, this extremely bright overachiever has recorded outstanding grades, fashioned a solid collegiate hockey career, scored an interview for the Rhodes Scholarship and introduced a charity to both his school and its hockey conference.
It should be mentioned that he’s doing all this as a member of the United States Military Academy, where discipline heads a list of characteristics of the student body in general.
An engineering… Continue Reading…
Loyalty never an issue with Delle Donne and Hulls
April 08, 2013
Delaware All-American Elena Delle Donne considered leaving her home state for the bright lights of a much bigger women’s college basketball stage. Indiana guard Jordan Hulls committed to his hometown team in the midst of a monumental rebuilding period.
Delle Donne signed with Connecticut out of high school, but after two days on campus, she longed to be closer to her family, including a sister with whom she shares an unbreakable bond. The easy choice would have been for her to remain… Continue Reading…
Patience pays off for volleyball star Mancuso
January 22, 2013
As her sister Dani was busy helping Nebraska win the 2006 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, Gina Mancuso was tearing it up on the court as a sophomore at nearby Papillion-LaVista High School. Two years later, Gina was named the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year – the first high school athlete from the state to win the honor.
So, taking up where Dani left off and making an immediate impact on the Husker volleyball team – no problem, right?
Wrong.
… Continue Reading…Perseverance and faith help write Te’o’s story
January 10, 2013
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was everywhere you looked – on every television channel up and down the dial, in every newspaper’s sports section, being interviewed on the radio, chatted about endlessly on social media and the subject of just about every water-cooler conversation.
There was a stretch of time in early December – when he was on the awards circuit – that he wasn’t exactly sure what city he was in when he woke up each morning.
It’s all good though. That’s… Continue Reading…
Jewell and McDuff experienced life as student-athletes in uniquely different ways
December 10, 2012
When it came to selecting a college at which to play soccer, Tishia Jewell and Ryan McDuff couldn’t have chosen more divergent paths.
Jewell, a Satellite Beach, Fla., native, chose to stay close to home, enrolling at the University of Central Florida in Orlando – the ultimate American tourist destination. UCF boasts an enrollment of 60,000. McDuff, who grew up in Plano, Tex., decided to move 2,000 miles away, choosing to attend Brown University in Rhode Island – geographically, the… Continue Reading…
Fall season kicks off with stellar list of candidates
October 02, 2012
We’ve barely had time to catch our collective breaths after a great season of Senior CLASS Award winners in 2011-12. We met the likes of Kirk Cousins - a terrific quarterback from Michigan State who wowed us all with his speech about the privilege and responsibility of being a student-athlete. We learned how important family and her home state of Hawaii are to Kanani Danielson when she joined us at the Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. We saw perseverance personified when… Continue Reading…
2011-12 Senior CLASS Award winners reflect on award’s meaning
July 05, 2012
They’ve graduated with degrees that will serve them for the rest of their lives. They’ve left lasting impressions on the college communities they have served for four years. They have competed in intercollegiate athletics at the highest levels. They are the nation’s most outstanding senior student-athletes in 10 NCAA Division I sports. And this is what the Senior CLASS Award means to them:
Brian Holt, Creighton, Men’s Soccer: “It is important to value… Continue Reading…
