The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Celebrates Student-Athletes Annual Green and Golden Globes
3/27/2018 9:38:00 AM | Football, Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis, Softball, Women's Basketball, Women's Tennis, Women's Track & Field, Women's Beach Volleyball, Academics
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB Department of Athletics, in conjunction with the UAB Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), held its second annual Green and Golden Globes on Monday night at the Alys Stephens Center.
The Green and Golden Globes honors individuals and teams for their performances over the last year on and off the field and in the community. Men's soccer's Erik Henze and softball's Katelyn Prater served as emcees for the event.
"Last night's Green and Golden Globes was such a special event for UAB Athletics," Assistant Director for Student Development Caitlin Callaghan said. "I want to extend a thank you to the Alys Stephens Center, Tutwiler Bar & Grill and the UAB Athletics Administration for allowing us to put on this event to celebrate our student-athletes, coaches, staff, faculty, donors. We are already looking forward to next year's event."
The first honor of the evening was the Faculty Appreciation Award, given to two members of the UAB faculty who impact the lives of student-athletes. The male recipient was Chuck Turnbough, professor emeritus of microbiology and a donor since 2003, while the female recipient was Kelli Lasseter, the Mental Health Athletic department committee co-chair implementing mental health programs and policies for student-athletes and a counselor for student counseling services.
Josh Young, the Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Services, and Laura Waldrop, the Assistant Manager for Athletics Operations and Facilities, were honored for their hard work and service to the department with the Best Staff Supporting Role awards.
Henze (men's soccer) was the male recipient of the 2017 Spirit of Service award. Henze has served an impressive 279 hours through 142 commitments since his start at UAB in the fall of 2015. Serena Martinez (cross-country/track & field) was the female recipient of the award as she has devoted over 55 hours of her time to the community over the past year.
Spencer Brown brought home the Igniter Award for his outstanding freshman season on the gridiron. In his first season with the Blazers, Brown was named to the Freshman All-American Team by the Football Writers Association of America, was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, named Second Team All-Conference USA and broke the UAB freshman rushing record in eight games.
Softball's Destini England also earned the Igniter Award for her spark on the softball field. As a freshman, England hit .279, led the team with 50 hits and tied the single-season school record with seven triples. She was named to the All-Conference USA Freshman Team last season.
Henze claimed his second award of the night, earning Male Teammate of the Year honors, while Avei Logoleo (beach volleyball) was named the female Teammate of the Year.
Men's tennis took the award for the best team GPA for the spring of 2017, while women's tennis had the best team GPA for the fall season. The men finished the 2017 spring semester with a 3.61 cumulative team GPA and the women finished the fall semester with a 3.64 cumulative team GPA.
The Flame On Courage Award went to two male and two female student-athletes who have overcome tremendous adversity while staying positive and encouraging to his or her teammates. The two male winners were Tyler Gates (baseball) and Ryan Sullivan (soccer), while the two female recipients were Claire Blount (softball) and Jennifer Sharpe (track & field).
The 2017 Mr. Blaze Award went to senior Chris Cokley (men's basketball). Cokley was named to the 2017-18 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 11 First Team for his performance last season. The senior finished his career at UAB ranking third all-time in scoring (1,660), second in rebounding (857) and second in field goals made (678) in 134 career games.
Junior Deanna Kuzmanic (women's basketball) claimed the Ms. Blaze Award crown. Kuzmanic started in all 34 games this past season and averaged 13.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On February 24, she became the 28th member of UAB's 1,000-point club and now ranks 23rd on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,116 points. Off the court, she was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team, one of three players in program history to be named to the award twice. She also became the second player in program history to be named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 4 Team.
The Men's Program Coach of the Year Winner goes to Bill Clark (football). Clark helped lead the football program after a two-year hiatus and rallied an entire community to contribute more than $47 million to help reinstate the program. Coach Clark guided the team to an 8-5 record, the program's best finish at the FBS level. He was a candidate for almost every national coaching award and won the CBS Sports National Coach of the Year as well as Conference USA Coach of the Year.
Randy Norton earned the Women's Program Coach of the Year Green and Golden Globe after guiding the Blazers to a 27-7 overall record and their first-ever Conference USA Regular Season title, the program's first title since winning the 1993-94 Great Midwest Regular Season crown. He was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year, the first UAB coach to garner the recognition in the C-USA era.
The Team of the Year Award went to UAB women's basketball. The Blazers landed their first trip to the postseason since 2010-2011 after a school record 27 wins. UAB earn its first 20-win season since 2010-11 and the ninth all-time. The program finished with their first-ever Conference USA Regular Season title, the team's first conference title in over 20 years.
Green and Golden Globe Award Winners:
Faculty Appreciation: Chuck Turnbough, Kelli Lasseter
Best Staff Supporting Role (Male): Josh Young
Best Staff Supporting Role (Female): Laura Waldrop
Spirit of Service: Erik Henze (Men's Soccer), Serena Martinez (Track)
Igniter (Male): Spencer Brown (Football)
Igniter (Female): Destini England (Softball)
Teammate of the Year (Male): Erik Henze (Men's Soccer)
Teammate of the Year (Female): Avei Logoleo (Beach Volleyball)
Academic Excellence Spring 2017 Best Team GPA: Men's Tennis
Academic Excellence Fall 2017 Best Team GPA: Women's Tennis
Flame on Courage: Tyler Gates (Baseball), Ryan Sullivan (Men's Soccer), Claire Blount, (Softball) and Jennifer Sharpe (Track & Field)
Mr. Blaze: Chris Cokley (Men's Basketball)
Ms. Blaze: Deanna Kuzmanic (Women's Basketball)
Coach of the Year (Male Program): Bill Clark
Coach of the Year (Female Program): Randy Norton
Team of the Year: Women's Basketball
The Green and Golden Globes honors individuals and teams for their performances over the last year on and off the field and in the community. Men's soccer's Erik Henze and softball's Katelyn Prater served as emcees for the event.
"Last night's Green and Golden Globes was such a special event for UAB Athletics," Assistant Director for Student Development Caitlin Callaghan said. "I want to extend a thank you to the Alys Stephens Center, Tutwiler Bar & Grill and the UAB Athletics Administration for allowing us to put on this event to celebrate our student-athletes, coaches, staff, faculty, donors. We are already looking forward to next year's event."
The first honor of the evening was the Faculty Appreciation Award, given to two members of the UAB faculty who impact the lives of student-athletes. The male recipient was Chuck Turnbough, professor emeritus of microbiology and a donor since 2003, while the female recipient was Kelli Lasseter, the Mental Health Athletic department committee co-chair implementing mental health programs and policies for student-athletes and a counselor for student counseling services.
Josh Young, the Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Services, and Laura Waldrop, the Assistant Manager for Athletics Operations and Facilities, were honored for their hard work and service to the department with the Best Staff Supporting Role awards.
Henze (men's soccer) was the male recipient of the 2017 Spirit of Service award. Henze has served an impressive 279 hours through 142 commitments since his start at UAB in the fall of 2015. Serena Martinez (cross-country/track & field) was the female recipient of the award as she has devoted over 55 hours of her time to the community over the past year.
Spencer Brown brought home the Igniter Award for his outstanding freshman season on the gridiron. In his first season with the Blazers, Brown was named to the Freshman All-American Team by the Football Writers Association of America, was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, named Second Team All-Conference USA and broke the UAB freshman rushing record in eight games.
Softball's Destini England also earned the Igniter Award for her spark on the softball field. As a freshman, England hit .279, led the team with 50 hits and tied the single-season school record with seven triples. She was named to the All-Conference USA Freshman Team last season.
Henze claimed his second award of the night, earning Male Teammate of the Year honors, while Avei Logoleo (beach volleyball) was named the female Teammate of the Year.
Men's tennis took the award for the best team GPA for the spring of 2017, while women's tennis had the best team GPA for the fall season. The men finished the 2017 spring semester with a 3.61 cumulative team GPA and the women finished the fall semester with a 3.64 cumulative team GPA.
The Flame On Courage Award went to two male and two female student-athletes who have overcome tremendous adversity while staying positive and encouraging to his or her teammates. The two male winners were Tyler Gates (baseball) and Ryan Sullivan (soccer), while the two female recipients were Claire Blount (softball) and Jennifer Sharpe (track & field).
The 2017 Mr. Blaze Award went to senior Chris Cokley (men's basketball). Cokley was named to the 2017-18 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I All-District 11 First Team for his performance last season. The senior finished his career at UAB ranking third all-time in scoring (1,660), second in rebounding (857) and second in field goals made (678) in 134 career games.
Junior Deanna Kuzmanic (women's basketball) claimed the Ms. Blaze Award crown. Kuzmanic started in all 34 games this past season and averaged 13.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On February 24, she became the 28th member of UAB's 1,000-point club and now ranks 23rd on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,116 points. Off the court, she was named to the Conference USA All-Academic Team, one of three players in program history to be named to the award twice. She also became the second player in program history to be named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 4 Team.
The Men's Program Coach of the Year Winner goes to Bill Clark (football). Clark helped lead the football program after a two-year hiatus and rallied an entire community to contribute more than $47 million to help reinstate the program. Coach Clark guided the team to an 8-5 record, the program's best finish at the FBS level. He was a candidate for almost every national coaching award and won the CBS Sports National Coach of the Year as well as Conference USA Coach of the Year.
Randy Norton earned the Women's Program Coach of the Year Green and Golden Globe after guiding the Blazers to a 27-7 overall record and their first-ever Conference USA Regular Season title, the program's first title since winning the 1993-94 Great Midwest Regular Season crown. He was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year, the first UAB coach to garner the recognition in the C-USA era.
The Team of the Year Award went to UAB women's basketball. The Blazers landed their first trip to the postseason since 2010-2011 after a school record 27 wins. UAB earn its first 20-win season since 2010-11 and the ninth all-time. The program finished with their first-ever Conference USA Regular Season title, the team's first conference title in over 20 years.
Green and Golden Globe Award Winners:
Faculty Appreciation: Chuck Turnbough, Kelli Lasseter
Best Staff Supporting Role (Male): Josh Young
Best Staff Supporting Role (Female): Laura Waldrop
Spirit of Service: Erik Henze (Men's Soccer), Serena Martinez (Track)
Igniter (Male): Spencer Brown (Football)
Igniter (Female): Destini England (Softball)
Teammate of the Year (Male): Erik Henze (Men's Soccer)
Teammate of the Year (Female): Avei Logoleo (Beach Volleyball)
Academic Excellence Spring 2017 Best Team GPA: Men's Tennis
Academic Excellence Fall 2017 Best Team GPA: Women's Tennis
Flame on Courage: Tyler Gates (Baseball), Ryan Sullivan (Men's Soccer), Claire Blount, (Softball) and Jennifer Sharpe (Track & Field)
Mr. Blaze: Chris Cokley (Men's Basketball)
Ms. Blaze: Deanna Kuzmanic (Women's Basketball)
Coach of the Year (Male Program): Bill Clark
Coach of the Year (Female Program): Randy Norton
Team of the Year: Women's Basketball
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
RB
/ Football
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
OF
/ Softball
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Track & Field
UTL
/ Softball
/ Women's Track & Field
Midfielder
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