University of Minnesota Athletics
Gibbemeyer, Hoffarber Receive Legacy Awards
10/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The Golden Gopher Fund Annual Banquet, which recognizes endowed scholarship student-athletes and donors, was held at TCF Bank Stadium on Monday evening.
Minnesota student-athletes Lauren Gibbemeyer (volleyball) and Blake Hoffarber (men's basketball) were honored as the 2010 recipients of the Patty Berg Legacy Scholar-Athlete Award and the Henry Williams Legacy Scholar-Athlete Award, respectively, while Dave and Linda Mona were honored with the 2010 Director's Award.
The scholar-athlete awards serve to carry on the legacy and names of Patty Berg and Henry Williams, and to honor student-athletes who exemplify the core values of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics. An honoree must be on a full or partial scholarship, preferably in their senior year, and on track to graduate. In addition, these student-athletes should have demonstrated both academic and athletic success, and have displayed the core values of pride, personal integrity, respect for human dignity, and loyalty.
"I am so proud to have Lauren and Blake represent athletics as this year's legacy award winners," Minnesota director of athletics Joel Maturi said. "They epitomize what these awards are about and have achieved at the highest levels, both academically and athletically. They are the best of the best."
Gibbemeyer is a senior middle blocker from St. Paul, majoring in kinesiology with a 3.448 cumulative grade point average. She has been a Minnesota Scholar Athlete three times, and has earned Academic All-Big Ten honors the past two seasons. Gibbemeyer also is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
On the court, Gibbemeyer was a 2009 First-Team All-American and a two-time First-Team All-Big Ten honoree (2008 & 2009). She ranks fourth on Minnesota's all-time list in blocks (516), while standing second in hitting percentage and fifteenth in kills. Gibbemeyer set a school-record for blocks in a single-season with 181 during 2009, and was named to the Minneapolis Region All-Tournament team during the Gophers' run to the Final Four that season. She will finish her outstanding career as one of just four Golden Gophers in school history to have 500 or more blocks.
This season, she has played in just 26 of 71 sets after missing 12 matches due to a wrist injury, but is leading the Gophers in hitting percentage (.361), has the sixth-highest kill total on the team (77), and has a total of 32 blocks (six solo and 26 assisted) for a team-high average of 1.23 blocks per set.
Hoffarber is a senior from Hopkins, majoring in finance at the Carlson School of Management. In the classroom, he holds a 3.316 grade point average and has been a Minnesota Scholar Athlete the past two seasons. He was also a member of the 2010 Big Ten Conference All-Academic Team.
On the court, Hoffarber is a sharp-shooter and is currently fourth all-time on Minnesota's three-point shooting percentage list among players with at least 80 career attempts at .418 (200-for-478). He is the Gophers' record holder with 200 career treys and has played in 101 career games. Hoffarber enters his senior campaign with 842 career points after averaging a career-high 10.0 points as a junior.
Hoffarber is a two-time ESPY nominee and won the award as a high school sophomore at Hopkins after hitting a shot from his seat that helped the Royals advance during the Minnesota state tournament. As a freshman, he averaged 8.4 points and hit a game-winning shot in the Big Ten Tournament to defeat Indiana, which earned him his second ESPY nomination.
The Director's Award was established in 2002 as a means for the athletic director to recognize external leaders in gratitude for their outstanding generosity, service and commitment to the University of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics program and its student-athletes. This year's honorees were Dave and Linda Mona.
Dave Mona is the founder and chairman of the region's largest public relations firm and a long-time University of Minnesota volunteer activist. He joins the University's Athletics Department this week as a special assistant to Maturi.
Mona has also served as color analyst on Gopher radio broadcasts for the past 13 years and has co-hosted the popular WCCO Radio Sports Huddle show with Sid Hartman for the past 29 years. He will continue in both those roles while splitting his time between the University of Minnesota and Bloomington-based Weber Shandwick public relations. The Mona's led a portion of the fundraising for TCF Bank Stadium, and are past national presidents of the 60,000-member University of Minnesota Alumni Association
"The Golden Gopher Fund Banquet is one of the most special events of the year, both for our student-athletes and for the donors who support them," said Maturi. "The banquet provides our donors with an opportunity to see firsthand the impact they are having on our student-athletes' lives. It's always an exceptional night."
Minnesota continues to undertake a critical initiative called FOREVER GOLD, which would endow all student-athlete scholarships. Endowed scholarship donors were recognized at tonight's banquet, and more than 180 Golden Gopher student-athletes were awarded endowed scholarships.
There are three levels of endowed scholarships -- Gold Level Endowment ($300,000 and above), Maroon Level Endowment ($150,000 to $299,999), and Bronze Level Endowment ($25,000 to $149,999). The endowment gifts are invested, and a portion of the return is used each year to support the designated program.
For more information about the Golden Gopher Fund, or to make an investment in the future of the program, click here. Your generous investment would help to enable the University of Minnesota to attract great students and give them the resources to achieve both athletically and academically.
--Athletic Communications Assistant Michael Molde
