The Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport is pleased to announce that Marnie Kinnaird, Master’s student in the School of Kinesiology, is the inaugural winner of the Pam Borton Endowment for the Promotion of Girls and Women in Sport Leadership Award. This first-of-its-kind endowment honors the legacy of Pam Borton for her contributions to the U of M both on and off the basketball court. During her 12-year tenure, Borton became the winningest women’s basketball coach in Golden Gopher history. She was a two-time Naismith National Coach of the Year nominee and in 2011 received the Ann Bancroft Foundation’s Dream Maker Award for her efforts to encourage the achievements of girls and women.

The Borton Endowment provides financial support to graduate students in the Tucker Center. Award winners engage in research and community outreach initiatives that promote leadership development among girls and women within a sport context. Kinnaird is a native of Oak Park, IL and received her B.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles. She conducted her senior thesis on the development of mental toughness in Division III female athletes. Kinnaird came to the U of M and the Tucker Center to pursue her research interests while obtaining her graduate degree in sport and exercise psychology. She is a member of the U of M’s cross-country and track & field teams.