Former UAB women’s soccer player Danielle Blair has been named a Top 30 honoree for the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. She is the first athlete in UAB history to make the prestigious list.
The award recognizes student athletes for academic and athletic excellence as well as leadership and service throughout their collegiate careers.
The Top 30 honorees were selected from a group of 142 conference nominees. The list will be narrowed to nine finalists, from which the Woman of the Year will be chosen by the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics. The winner will be announced Oct. 16.
Blair, a defender, is one of the most decorated players in UAB Blazer history. A native of Toronto, she was a three-time ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, was twice named to the Conference USA All-Academic and earned the league’s Academic Medal all four years. Blair also was named the C-USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women’s soccer for the 2009-2010 academic year.
Blair, a triple major in marketing, management and industrial distribution, graduated in 2011 and maintained a 3.98 GPA. Her scholastic efforts earned her the C-USA Postgraduate Scholarship, and for her work in community service she received the C-USA Spirit of Service Award in December 2009.
After her career at UAB, Blair played for the Trinidad and Tobago Soca Princesses Women’s National team, for which she competed in the Women’s World Cup qualifying rounds.