INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Southern Arkansas University graduate student-athlete Carley Hale has been selected as a 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 Honoree as announced by the organization on Thursday afternoon. Hale's prestigious distinction is the first for the department since joining the NCAA in 1995-96. The athletic department's nominee, Hale was named the Great American Conference's representative for the award on August 10. The 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year awards ceremony will celebrate the Top 30 honorees and the NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced. The event will be streamed via the @NCAA Twitter account and NCAA YouTube account Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
 
"Carley has been a remarkable ambassador for Mulerider Athletics and Southern Arkansas University," said SAU Director of Athletics Steve Browning. "Her list of accolades and achievements in competition and in the classroom is quite impressive, but who she is as a person is what makes her so deserving of this honor."
 
A native of Panhandle, Texas, Hale earned her undergraduate degree this past April after graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA in Art & Design: Media and Marketing with a minor in English. One of the most highly decorated female student-athletes in department history, Hale is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, a two-time GAC Elite Scholar-Athlete, the only female to be named the Murphy USA Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice and was voted as SAU's Outstanding Senior in Art & Design for the 2020-21 year.
 
She has been equally as impressive in competition as the eight-time All-GAC honoree (3x XC, 5x T&F) and Mulerider Women's Cross Country Team Captain has ran in 4K, 5K, and 6K events in her cross country career and has competed in the 400M, 800M, 1500M, 3000S and High Jump events while a member of the Mulerider Women's Track & Field program. Hale has recorded seven career event wins and 20 career top three finishes among both sports.
 
"I'm extremely excited for Carley earning this impressive honor. It is easy to see her top athletic performances and the academic achievements she has reached, but her leadership; how she carries herself around her teammates and her service to others is very special," remarked Hale's head coach Tim Servis, who employed a persistent effort in recruiting the Texan. "I am very proud to be her coach."
 
Although academic excellence and athletic achievement are highly considered in the selection process, service and leadership are just as important and Hale is just as qualified. Among the many areas that she was involved in, Hale served in such roles as the SAU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Secretary and as Communications Director of SAU's ISI Ministries, while also sponsoring a child in Bolivia through Child Fund International. Additionally, she is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma and the National Society of Leadership & Success.
 
If any other example was needed of Hale's determination and commitment on the course or in the classroom, one can take a look at her daily commitment to live a life as normal as possible. Hale battles daily with narcolepsy with cataplexy which is a "chronic neurological disorder caused by the brain's inability to regulate a stable sleep-wake cycle" coupled with "a sudden loss of muscle tone that causes feelings of weakness and loss of voluntary muscle control." (sleepassociation.org)
 
Hale, who has suffered from the disorder since being diagnosed in February of her senior year of high school, wouldn't change it if she could.
 
"If I could go back and change my condition, I don't think I would," noted Hale in an article titled "Running toward a challenge" that ran in the summer edition of The Stater. "It has taught me so much about priorities, time management, to have compassion for others, and not to make assumptions about people."
 
Humble in acceptance of the honor, Carley is extremely appreciative of those that have helped make this recognition possible.
 
"I am beyond grateful to have been selected as one of the Top 30 Honorees for the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year award. Although my name and accomplishments are being recognized, I could not have done this alone.
 
Thank you, NCAA committee, for this outstanding honor. You recognized my heart and drive even while facing adversity.
 
Thank you, Southern Arkansas University, for giving me the opportunities to succeed in the classroom, on the track, and through leadership and service.
 
Thank you Coach Tim Servis for your commitment to the program and athletes.
 
Thank you SAU Cross Country Team. You all are more than teammates, but true friends and family.
 
Thank you to my mom and dad for teaching me to be humbly competitive and for always supporting my dreams and aspirations.
 
Thank you family members and friends. Your support and cheers will always be remembered.
 
Special thanks to my brother, Maverick Hale. You have always pushed me to be the best version of myself.
 
Special thanks to my High School Cross Country Coach Sheena Schmucker and her husband Rob Schmucker. You both exemplify the love, hard work, and stamina it takes in being an athlete.
 
Overall, this award illuminates that a person can overcome and accomplish great things despite unforeseen calamities. I greatly thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for showing me this and allowing me to be an example for others. Again, thank you NCAA athletics and the selection committee. Your dedication to the program and athletes is greatly appreciated."
 
From the NCAA
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

Selected from 535 school nominees — a group that was then narrowed to 154 nominees by conference offices — the Top 30 honorees include 10 from each of the three NCAA divisions. All have demonstrated excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. The honorees represent 12 sports and an array of academic majors, including biology, psychology, mechanical engineering, education, software engineering and anthropology. "We are thrilled to recognize the 30 honorees selected this year," said John Kietzmann, chair of the selection committee and associate director of athletics for marketing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. "These women excelled in the classroom and competition, while still prioritizing serving their peers and communities despite the challenges they faced during the pandemic. They represent the thousands of women competing in college sports each year, and we congratulate them for their incredible achievements."

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30, and the nine finalists will be announced this fall. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics will choose the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Hale could become just the third Great American Conference student-athlete to advance as a Top 3 honoree of NCAA Division II joining Southwestern Oklahoma State's Hailey Tucker (Women's Basketball) who earned the honor in 2019 and Arkansas Tech's Rebecka Surtevall (Women's Golf) who first did it in 2015.

By the Numbers:
2021 NCAA Woman of the Year
• 31st year of the Woman of the Year celebration
• 4 pillars: Academics, Athletics, Service, Leadership
• 3.92 Average GPA
• 50 school records and 9 conference records collectively held by the group in their respective sports
• 5 honorees received NCAA postgraduate scholarships