Earlier this week, the NCAA announced the recipients of the 2024 Today’s Top 10 award, and former Arizona State University swimmer Lindsay Looney was chosen as one of the 10 awardees.
Since its inception in 1973 as the Top 5 awards, the NCAA has honored former student athletes for their excellence in athletics and academics, as well as contributions to their community. This award notably does not discriminate between divisions, sports, or genders, and has even had multiple winners in the same sport in the same year. The Top 10 are chosen by the NCAA Honors Committee, representatives from NCAA schools and conferences, and “nationally distinguished citizens”. Notable former athletes who have won this award include football stars Peyton and Eli Manning, and former swimming legends Jenny Thompson, Rowdy Gaines, and Gary Hall Sr.
Looney is well-known for her proficiency in the fly events, particularly the 200, where she placed in the top 8 at her junior and senior NCAA championships. She also competed internationally for Team USA, most notably in 2023 as a member of the World Championship team in the 200 butterfly where she placed 8th. At the 2024 Olympic team trials Looney placed 3rd in the 200 fly, just behind Regan Smith and Alex Shackell.
Her proficiency extends far beyond the pool, however. Looney was named as the 2024 Elite 90 winner, which goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at every sport’s final championship site. She was also named the 2024 Pac-12 scholar athlete of the year, 2which goes to one athlete from each sport in the conference.
Looney was also active in the community as she was a member of ASU’s Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), the EmpowHER club for female student-athletes at ASU, and she was an active volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House.
She graduated in 2024 summa cum laude with a master’s degree in Family and Human Development. Looney recently moved to Austin where she is training with Bob Bowman’s pro group at the University of Texas.
