Oct. 19, 2011

TUCSON - For the second-consecutive year, Arizona softball senior Alicia Banks has been selected as an NFCA Scholar Athlete.

Banks, a psychology major, became the first Wildcat to win the award twice. Ashley Ralston-Alvarez and Erika Hanson are the other Wildcats to earn the citation in 2010 and 2001, respectively.

Over 4,000 student-athletes representing 707 different academic institutions were named as a 2011 NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete, the Association announced Thursday.

The award is given to any player submitted by a member coach who achieved a 3.50 grade point average or higher during the 2010-11 academic year. The award is the second component of the Association's academic award program. Last week, the teams with the highest GPAs in each membership category were recognized as a 2011 NFCA Top Ten All-Academic team.

This year's total of 4,331 honorees bested last year's total by over 30 student-athletes. The membership category with the most participating institutions this year was Division III with 168, while high school led the way in total honorees with 1,160.

For a complete listing of 2010-11 All-Academic Teams and All-America Scholar Athletes, visit http://www.nfca.org/pagebank/?id=1916.