Photo Courtesy of Mark Campell

NEWARK, Del. -- Courtney Aburn (at right), who closed out an outstanding four-year career with the University of Delaware women’s lacrosse squad this spring, has been honored with the UD Dr. Myles Brand/Undergraduate Sport Management Award.

The award is given each year to a senior sport management major who in and out of the classroom, potentially on the playing field, in the community and
in their professional activities, displays the ideals championed by the NCAA in its core purpose - "To govern competition in a fair, safe, equitable, and sportsmanlike manner, and to integrate intercollegiate athletics into higher education so that the educational experience of the student is paramount."

The award is named in honor of Dr. Brand, the former NCAA President who passed away in 2009, and was created after he visited campus to speak to UD students and faculty during the fall 2005 semester.

Aburn, an attack player from Jarrettsville, Md. (John Carroll High School), earned her degree with honors in sport management from Delaware last month. She was a four-year letterwinner and starter for the Blue Hens who served as tri-captain in 2010 and led teams to three straight Colonial Athletic Association Tournament appearances in 2007-09, including a runner-up finish in 2009.

A four-year member of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll and a CoSIDA Academic All-American nominee, Aburn played in 67 career games with 58 starts and finished her career ranked No. 21 on the all-time scoring list with 128 points on 83 goals and 35 assists. She recorded nine career hat tricks, including scoring four goals in her final collegiate game vs. Drexel in April.

Aburn ranked fourth on the squad in scoring with 21 points on 13 goals and eight assists this past spring and led the squad with 21 draw controls. Her 108 career draw controls rank her No. 2 on the all-time Delaware list in that category.