Recent Aurora University graduate Nicci Bermudes is the Spartan's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, honoring graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

The 517 student-athletes nominated by NCAA member schools marks the largest in the 26-year history of the award with 169 coming from Division III.  A total of 231 competed in Division I and 117 competed in Division II athletics. The nominees represent 21 different women's sports, and 127 of the nominees competed in more than one sport in college.

As a senior, she was named the AU Female Athlete of the Year, 2015 CoSIDA women's soccer Academic All-America® of the Year while also being First-Team All-America, Second-Team All-American by The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), NSCAA Scholar All-American, First-Team Academic All-District, NSCAA First-Team All-Region, the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference.

On the field, Bermudes capped off her four-year career in 2015 with another remarkable season. She finished the season with 31 goals and eight assists for 70 points. She is the AU and Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference career leader in goals with 100, points with 240 and game-winning goals with 33.

The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award. Individual conferences then assess their member school nominees and select up to two conference nominees.

The Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will then choose the top 30 honorees – 10 from each division. From the top 30, the selection committee determines the top three honorees from each division and announces the nine finalists in September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then chooses from among those nine to determine the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year winner will be announced at the annual award ceremony Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.