Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
Awarded forthe most outstanding male and female college basketball players no taller than 6'0" (1.83 m) and 5'8" (1.73 m), respectively
CountryUnited States
Presented byNABC (men)
WBCA (women)
History
First award1969 (men)
1984 (women)
Final award2014

The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law,[1] was established for men in 1969[1] and for women in 1984.[2] The men's award was presented to the nation's most outstanding senior who stands 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) or shorter,[1] while the women's award was presented to the top senior who is 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) or shorter.[3] Early in the women's award's history, the cut-off height was 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m).[2] The men's award was selected by a panel from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC),[1] while the women's was selected by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).[4] The award was discontinued following the 2013–14 season.[5]

Both the men's and women's winners were generally players in NCAA Division I. For the men's side, John Rinka from Kenyon College (1970), Mike Scheib from Susquehanna University (1978) and Jerry Johnson from Florida Southern College (1988) won from NCAA Divisions II, III, and II, respectively. For the women's winners, Julie Dabrowski of New Hampshire College (now Southern New Hampshire University) (1990) and Amy Dodrill (1995) and Angie Arnold (1998), both from Johns Hopkins University, were also winners from Division III.

Only three schools from the list of men's winners (Louisville, St. John's and UCLA) and six schools from the list of women's winners (Baylor, Gonzaga, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Penn State, and UConn) had multiple award winners. Of these programs, the only one with winners in consecutive seasons is the Louisville men's program (Peyton Siva in 2013 and Russ Smith in 2014). Six other schools have had winners of both the men's and women's awards: California, Eastern Michigan, NC State, Purdue, Virginia, and Wake Forest.

  1. ^ a b c d "Purdue's Bill Keller Wins 'Small Man' College Award". Valley News. Lebanon, New Hampshire. March 29, 1969. p. 10. Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b Kroshus, Jay (December 7, 1984). "UW women face toughest opponent". Wisconsin State Journal. Madison, Wisconsin. p. 30. Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. The point guard is freshman Teresa Weatherspoon, who is replacing Kim Mulkey. Mulkey was the first recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award for the nation's best women's collegiate player under 5-6.
  3. ^ Fulkerson, Vickie (March 6, 2009). "A most decorated senior". The Day. New London, Connecticut. p. 27. Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Rizzotti adds another award". The Day. New London, Connecticut. April 18, 1996. p. 38. Retrieved March 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Pomeroy, Ken (January 8, 2019). "KenPom: Where's the love for the little guy in college hoops?". TheAthletic.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 20, 2024.