Kristin Hoffman
Northern Illinois Volleyball standout setter Kristin Hoffman (2008-11) has added another prestigious award to her impressive list of career honors as she was named the Mid-American Conference’s female 2012 Bob James Memorial Award winner, the league announced Tuesday.
“When I received a phone call from Korinth Patterson from the MAC office last week, I was in complete shock to be notified about the Bob James Memorial Scholarship,” said Hofmann, one of only three Huskies to ever earn the honor, following Jody Yednock in 2007 (gymnastics) and Marie Zidek in 2006 (volleyball).
“I am extremely honored to be the female recipient of this post-graduate scholarship and am very grateful to receive this scholarship to help with my legal education,” Hoffman added.
“Thank you to the NIU administrators and our Faculty Athletic Representative Dr. Matt Streb for initially nominating me and for the unending support. I am so proud to be a Huskie and thankful for all of the opportunities this great university and athletic program has given me over the past four years.”
Chosen by league’s Faculty Athletic Representatives and in its 23rd year, the Bob James Memorial Award recognizes one female and one male student-athlete who have achieved a minimum grade point average of 3.50, and have displayed good character, leadership and citizenship.
The student-athletes are nominated during the year in which they complete their final season of eligibility. The $5,000 post-graduate scholarship is awarded in honor Bob James, the second commissioner in Mid-American Conference history (1964-71).
Hoffman graduated summa cum laude in the spring of 2012 from NIU with a bachelor of arts degree in history and a 3.975 cumulative GPA. She was a Northern Illinois Victory Scholar (3.50 GPA or better), Honors Program and Dean’s List member for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 2008-2012.
Having already graduated from NIU, the Batavia, Ill. native is using the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500) that she recently earned and is currently attending law school at Marquette.
Additionally, Hoffman made the cut on Aug. 24 from 430 nominees to the top 30 for the esteemed NCAA Woman of the Year award, and is just one of 10 eligible for the award in the NCAA Division I level.
As team captain, Hoffman helped lead the Huskies to the MAC Regular season title for the first time since 2001 last season. She became the first Huskie to be named MAC Setter of the Year after leading the country in assists with 12.27 per set. She was an honorable mention American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selection in 2011 to become a three-time All-American (Honorable Mention AVCA, two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American).
She ranks second all-time at NIU in assists (4,392) and 19th in digs (796).
Outside of athletics Hoffman participated in an AmeriCorps program called Students in Service where she was required to log 300 hours of community service. Through Student in Service she worked at a daycare, tutored elementary school students, volunteered at a summer Girl Scout camp and played games at a nursing home. She also was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee where she served as the Community Service Chair this past year.
For more information on NIU volleyball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
