Bowling Green State University Athletics
Former volleyball standout Linda (Popovich) Nicastro Honored
April 19, 2004 | Volleyball
April 19, 2004
Bowling Green, Ohio - Former BGSU volleyball standout Linda (Popovich) Nicastro was the keynote speaker and was named Distinguished Alum at the 2004 BGSU Scholar-Athlete Honors Banquet Sunday evening (April 18).
One of the finest student-athletes to go through the University, she capped a brilliant four-year career as a student in 1990 by earning the Walter Byers Scholarship, and as an athlete by being named the "Most Valuable Player" in the MAC.
A 1995 BGSU Hall of Fame inductee, Popovich concluded her academic career at BG with a 3.95 GPA majoring in political science and economics. BGSU's representative at numerous student symposiums and programs, she earned the Byers Award which is given annually to the top male and female graduating seniors in the country.
Byers Award candidates must have at least a 3.50 GPA, show evidence of superior character and leadership, and demonstrate that participation in athletics has been a positive influence on personal and intellectual development.
In addition, Nicastro, a setter, was a first-team Academic All-American each of her last two years at BG. A third-team Academic All-American as a sophomore, she was the first BG athlete to earn GTE national academic honors three times and was only the fourth from a MAC institution. She is the only female in conference history to earn first-team national academic honors twice and was a three-time MAC All-Academic pick.
On the court, Nicastro earned all-MAC laurels four times, league freshman-of-the-year accolades in 1986, and MAC Player-of-the-Year honors in 1989. She established league career records for assists (4,460 - 17th on the NCAA career list at the time) and digs (1,246) and left BG holding five additional school records. Her career assist and ace totals still stand as school marks. she played in every game of every match during her four-year career.
