June 18, 2003

Manhattan, Kan. - Kansas State seniors Tim Doty and Amy Mortimer were two of 24 student-athletes honored by the Big Conference with $5,000 postgraduate scholarships, the league announced on Wednesday.

A four-year lettermen and three-year starter at first base/designated hitter, Doty became the Kansas State baseball program's first and only multiple selection to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII team this past season. The only player to start in all 52 games, Doty was the team leader in batting average (.338) and runs scored (45) en route to earning honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades for the second time in 2003. He also paced the squad in slugging percentage (.528) and on-base percentage (.428), while he was second in hits (66), home runs (9), RBIs (39) and walks (24). Doty, who also added 16 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI games, had at least one hit in 42 of the team's 52 games this past season. In addition to being a three-time academic all-district recipient, he was also named three times to the first team Academic All-Big 12 team. A graduate of Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, Okla., Doty graduated from Kansas State in May with a degree in accounting/pre-law. He plans to pursue postgraduate studies in law at the University of Oklahoma this fall.

One of the most decorated cross country and track athletes in Kansas State history, Mortimer recently earned All-America honors for the 12th time in her career when she broke the near 20-year-old school record in the 1,500-meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend. After breaking her career-high in the event to reach the finals, Mortimer completed her college eligibility by shaving nearly a second off Deb Pihl's 1984 school-record time in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:12.39 to finish in 10th place. It marked the third time that she earned All-America honors at the outdoor championships in her career, including the second straight year in the 1,500 meters after finishing fourth in the event in 2002. Among her 12 All-America certificates, Mortimer collected the accolade all four years in cross country and five times in indoor track. The school-record holder in both the 1,500 and 5,000 meters, she was a four-time Big 12 champion, winning the 1,500 meters in 2002 and 2003 and the 5,000 in 2000 in addition to her conference title in the indoor mile in 2003.

A three-time Academic All-American at Kansas State, Mortimer recently earned first team accolades from Verizon/CoSIDA in 2003 after earning second and third team honors as a junior and sophomore. Mortimer, who graduates in December with a degree in accounting, plans to pursue a master's in accountacy at Kansas State.

In addition to their many national and regional academic awards, Doty and Mortimer were named Kansas State's Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year on May 5.

A committee of three faculty representatives, one senior woman administrator and one director of athletics form the selection group for the prestigious awards, which help the individuals to continue their formal education. Criteria for these awards include a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, participation in at least two years of intercollegiate athletics at the scholar-athlete's respective institution and completion of athletics' eligibility. They must graduate from their member institutions within 15 months of selection as postgraduate scholarship recipients and are expected to enroll in graduate/professional schools within two years after graduation.

The $2,500 individual annual grants began in 1996-97 and were raised to $5,000 in 1999. Since May 1997, the Big 12 Conference has provided $392,500 in financial aid to deserving recipients. The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors for the 2002-03 academic year provided 24 postgraduate scholarships (12 men, 12 women) to increase the opportunities for a growing number of applicants.