Columbus North graduate Ali Patberg receives the G. Frederick Glass Director’s Award from former Indiana University athletics director Fred Glass.
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Cortney VanLiew and Ali Patberg have spent the past five years helping lead their college teams to unprecedented heights on the court while doing big things themselves off the court.
In the past couple of weeks, the graduating seniors won one of the most prestigious awards a student-athlete can win at their respective schools. Patberg is the female recipient of the G. Frederick Glass Director’s Award at Indiana University, and VanLiew is the lone winner of Florida Gulf Coast University’s Kavanagh Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award and also won the Ms. FGCU award for most school spirit.
VanLiew, a Columbus East graduate, played five years of volleyball and just wrapped up her third year of beach volleyball at FGCU this week. In volleyball, she is the school’s all-time leader in kills, was a two-time ASUN Conference Player of the Year and was named honorable mention All-American in 2018 after leading the Eagles to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Columbus East graduate and Florida Gulf Coast senior Cortney VanLiew holds her awards from FGCU’s NESTIES program on Wednesday.
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A four-time All-ASUN honoree, VanLiew also was a three-time ASUN All-Academic selection and a two-time CoSIDA All-Academic honoree. She was a two-term president of FGCU’s Eagles Council, currently serves as the ASUN Student Athletic Advisory Committee president and is a member of FGCU’s Hall of Fame for students. She earned a degree in accounting with a minor in Spanish last spring and is finishing her master’s in business administration.
Patberg, a Columbus North graduate who wrapped up her basketball career with the Hoosiers in March, is ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list and third in assists. She helped lead them to the first back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances in school history.
The four-time All-Big Ten player also is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She graduated from IU’s Kelley School of Business in 2020 and will complete her master’s degree in recreational administration this week.
The G. Frederick Glass Director’s Award, given by IU vice president and athletics director Scott Dolson in honor for former VP and athletics director Fred Glass, is presented to two student-athletes who best represent The Spirit of Indiana: “24 Sports, 1 Team.”
Columbus East graduates and Indiana University sophomores Cayden and Graham Rooks pose with the awards they won at this week’s IU wrestling banquet.
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Meanwhile, two other East graduates were honored by IU. Sophomore wrestlers Graham and Cayden Rooks were recognized as Academic-All-Big Ten, and both won Standard of Excellence Awards.
Cayden Rooks also was honored at IU’s wrestling banquet for scoring the most takedowns on the team. Both Graham and Cayden were team captains this season.
