Bucknell University Athletics
Kevin Eiben Receives Two Senior Athletic Awards
6/19/2001 8:00:00 AM | Football
June 19, 2001
LEWISBURG, PA -- Bucknell senior Kevin Eiben (Delta, British Columbia/Vancouver College), an all-American free safety on the Bison football team and an all-league outfielder on the baseball team, received two special awards at the University's annual Senior Athletic Awards Banquet, sponsored by the Bison Club and held at the University in early May.
Eiben won the Albert H. Humphreys Award, presented to "a male athlete for outstanding achievement in more than one varsity sport," and the Christy Mathewson Award, given to the most outstanding athletes in the senior class. He shared the Mathewson Award with women's swimming standout Molly Lowe.
In addition to Eiben and Lowe, several other student-athletes were honored at the banquet.
Eiben capped off an outstanding athletic career at Bucknell with a superb season on the gridiron last fall. A three-year starter in the secondary for the Orange and Blue, he received almost every honor imaginable following the 2000 campaign. The free safety was tabbed an American Football Coaches Association All-American, a second team Associated Press All-American, a Don Hansen's Football Gazette 2000 All-American Second Team choice, a first team All-Patriot League selection, a first team ECAC All-Star, the Patriot League's Scholar-Athlete, and the team's MVP.
The 6'0," 205-pounder, who was presented with the Lewisburg Touchdown Club Award (MVP) after a record-setting year for the Orange and Blue, led the Patriot League and ranked seventh in the nation with eight interceptions (0.73/g). Eiben piled up 150 return yards on his interceptions to set a Bucknell single-season record, and tied another when he picked off four passes against Duquesne early in the season. That accomplishment also earned him a place in the Patriot League record book and an appearance on ESPN's Thursday Night Football "Hidden Video" segment. He finished second on the team with 78 tackles (44 unassisted) and led the squad with 10 pass breakups.
In addition, Eiben had an outstanding season as the league's top punt returner. He returned 30 punts for 366 yards, an average of 12.2 yards per return, to rank 15th in Division I-AA. In the process he set Bucknell single- season and career punt return marks with 366 and 626 yards, respectively, and set a Bison career record with 51 punt returns. He had his best punt return performance when he returned seven punts for 126 yards at Towson, setting a Patriot League single-game mark.
Eiben was also honored for his academic achievements when he was selected to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 First Team. It was his second selection to the all-district team. The gridiron success culminated in early May when Eiben was taken as the 26th overall pick in the 2001 Canadian Football League Draft by the Toronto Argonauts.
On the baseball field, Eiben played three seasons and earned all-league honors in 1999 after ranking fifth in the league with a .378 average. He played in 122 games, starting 118, and finished his career with a .313 batting average, over 100 runs scored, and nearly 70 RBIs. He also stole 41 bases in 45 attempts.
Bucknell is a highly-selective, privately endowed liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 3,650 undergraduate students. Bucknell competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the Patriot League, along with Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, and Navy. Army and Navy do not compete in the league in football. Fordham and Towson are associate members of the league in football and Georgetown will join as a football-only member in 2001. American University will also become an all-sport member in 2001-2002.
In two of the past nine years, Bucknell ranked FIRST in the nation in the graduation rate of its student-athletes, and in the ten years the NCAA survey has been conducted it has never been lower than seventh. In addition, Bucknell ranks third in Division I in the total number of GTE Academic All-America selections, with 100 national Academic All-Americans since 1970.
