Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award


The Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award was an annual award honoring the achievements of a female individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best Female College Basketball Player ESPY Award, which was presented annually between the 1993 and 2001 ceremonies, inclusive. The Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, was awarded to the sportswoman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Since the 2004 awards, the winner was chosen by online voting through three to five nominees selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.
The inaugural winner of the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award at the 2002 awards was University of Connecticut Huskies basketball player Sue Bird. During her collegiate career, Bird won two NCAA championships, and was awarded a further eight accolades for her achievements. She became the first of two Basketball players to be nominated for, and hence to win, the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award. The 2003 winner of the award was Diana Taurasi of the University of Connecticut Huskies basketball team. Taurasi won the accolade again the following year, and is one of three woman to have been given the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award more than once: the most any one woman has won is Maya Moore who earned three consecutive awards between the 2009 and 2011 ceremonies. Basketball players dominate the winners list, with eleven awards, while softball competitors have won four times, and just one swimmer has been recognized in the accolade's history. The 2017 winner of the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award is Kelly Barnhill of the University of Florida Gators softball squad. The accolade was combined with the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award to create the Best College Athlete ESPY Award which was presented for the first time at the 2018 ceremony.

List of winners and nominees

Statistics

NameWinsNominations
30
21
21
20
03
02
02
02
02

TeamWinsNominations
Connecticut Huskies82
Texas Longhorns21
Baylor Lady Bears20
California Golden Bears14
Florida Gators12
Arizona Wildcats11
Penn State Nittany Lions05
Maryland Terrapins04
North Carolina Tar Heels04
USC Trojans04
Notre Dame Fighting Irish03
Stanford Cardinal03
UCLA Bruins03
Washington Huskies03
Duke Blue Devils02

SportWinnersNominations
Basketball118
Softball414
Swimming17
Soccer011
Volleyball08
Lacrosse05