JAYNE EVEN
Student Athlete
Former North Dakota State University basketball player Jayne Even might need a truck to take home all her awards. Her most recent honor is the 2001 Woody Hayes National Scholar-Athlete Award, presented to six students who demonstrate leadership in sport, academics, service and character.
With a flair for understatement, Even said, It's sure been a fun ride.
Now a graduate student in mass communication, Even previously won the Honda Broderick Trophy as the NCAA Division II female athlete of the year, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year Award and North Central Conference Player of the Year. She was named to the GTE/CoSIDA College Division Academic All-America second team, was twice an All-NCC selection and made the NCC All-Academic first team.
Even also is one of 26 NDSU student athletes who have been awarded NCAA post-graduate scholarships.
She is the third Bison player to be Division II female athlete of the year, the fifth to win NCC Player of the Year honors and the second to receive the Hayes Award.
According to Even, there is a simple explanation for the ongoing excellence for Bison Athletics both in the arena and the classroom. It's the combination of the programs and the people, she said. The programs speak for themselves with their tradition of quality it doesn't matter what sport it is. The education opportunities allow us to excel at anything and the community is awesome in its support.
Even's stellar athletic career had only one disappointment: her 1999 Bison team lost the national title game. The only thing I wish I could have gotten is a team championship, she said. We came that close, but looking back I have no regrets. I've gotten every opportunity I could ever imagine and then some.
Hoping to earn her master's degree this summer, Even wants to pursue a career in public relations, perhaps working for a university, a college athletic program or a professional team.
When I look at what I'm going to do the rest of my life, good grades are going to help more than how many baskets I made, said the native of Sioux Falls, S.D., who earned a 3.62 grade point average as an undergraduate.
've loved my experience at NDSU. The people I've met have become my best friends and I wouldn't exchange that for anything.
S. Bergeson
