ORLANDO, Fla. -- University of Texas women's track and field head coach Bev Kearney was honored as one of five recipients of the 2005 Giant Steps Award at a banquet in Orlando, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 21. The award, given by the National Consortium for Academics & Sports, is presented to individuals who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics while having made significant contributions to the community.
This year's honorees include Kearney, former UT football standout and Kansas City Chief's running back Priest Holmes, basketball player Dionte Hall of Largo High School in St. Petersburg, Fla., basketball player Justin Allen of Arizona State University and softball player Samantha Eyman of Saint Xavier University.
Kearney, now in her 13th season at the helm of the Texas program, is a seven-time National Coach of the Year award winner and has led the Longhorns to four NCAA National Championships and 16 league titles. While in Austin, the Bradenton, Fla. native has produced 11 national champions, who have combined for 23 awards, and 44 All-Americans, who have recorded a total of 230 awards. Kearney's student-athletes have also earned 50 Academic All-Conference honors during her tenure.
Kearney is no stranger to prestigious honors. In 1996, she served her first year as president of the Men's and Women's Track and Field Coaches' Association, making her the first woman and the first African-American to hold that post. In the fall of 2001, Kearney was honored with a special exhibit at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center in Austin for her many achievements on and off the track. In 2003, Kearney was one of a select few track and field coaches featured in a special section at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind. entitled "What It Takes To Be A Champion" and on Oct. 18, 2004, she was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.
Kearney will be looking for her third Big 12 Indoor Championship when she and the Longhorns travel to Lincoln, Neb. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26.
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