Natalie Robinson Wins Pac-12 Leadership Award

SAN FRANCISCO — Natalie Robinson was named today as the female recipient of the annual Pac-12 Student-Athlete Leadership Awards, the Conference office announced. Robinson, the Pac-12 representative to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Council, earned the honor along with Oregon State men's soccer's Joel Walker. Robinson is the third Husky to receive this honor since the award was established in 2002.

The Pac-12 Conference established the Pac-12 Leadership Award to recognize student-athletes who have served on their institutional Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) and demonstrated leadership. This Pac-12 Leadership Award is a $3,000 scholarship for postgraduate study awarded to one male and one female student-athlete each year.

Robinson will be attending law school at the University of Texas starting this fall.

The Pac-12 Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is composed of representatives from each member institution, selects the winners of the award each year from nominations submitted by each campus SAAC.

Robinson, a political science and communication double major with a law, society and justice minor, has served as the Huskies' team captain and held numerous leadership positions during her time in Seattle. As SAAC Committee Chair, Robinson has participated in discussions and voting highlighting topics from social justice initiatives to name, image & likeness and student-athlete professional development. 

The Mercer Island, Wash., native was voted Washington SAAC vice president in 2019 and president in 2020, tenures in which she educated student-athletes about NCAA legislation and oversaw all five SAAC sub-committees to enhance the student-athlete experience. During her senior year, Robinson was the Pac-12's representative on the NCAA Division I SAAC. She also has taken part in Husky Leadership Academy, a cohort of Washington student-athletes selected to develop professional skills through mentoring and guest speaker opportunities. A peer advocate selected by her teammates to participate in various mental health challenges, Robinson's work to address civic engagement and amplify student-athlete voices within the NCAA stands out from the rest. 

In addition to her studies and leadership, Robinson participated in Courts for Kids, traveling to Peru along with 15 other student-athletes to build the first concrete athletics court in the Santa Isabel region. This fall, she will begin her studies at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, seeking opportunities to better the athletic community. 

Robinson spent two seasons on the Washington indoor volleyball team and four seasons with the beach volleyball program, starting every match on the sand. 

To be eligible for the award, nominees must have completed or be in their final season of athletics eligibility, be enrolled in or plan to attend graduate school, have been a letter winner in a varsity sport, and have served a minimum of one year on the campus SAAC. Other factors which may be taken into account during the selection process include other leadership activities, community service, grade-point average, service as a SAAC officer, and level of athletic achievement.

ALSO NOMINATED: Madelyn Hunter, Arizona State Women's Lacrosse; Sydney Guthrie-Baker, Oregon State Women's Track & Field; Alyssa Palacios, Utah Softball; Steven Rosts, Washington Men's Rowing.

PREVIOUS PAC-12 LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNERS