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.
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.
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.