Knox College Athletics

Deborah DeGraff was one of Knox's pioneering female intercollegiate athletes.  She graduated from Galesburg High School in 1976 and decided to pursue her college education in her hometown.  During her time at Knox College, women's intercollegiate athletics were still in their infancy.  Deb's decision to attend Knox turned out to not only benefit her personally, but over time, has come to have a profound impact on her alma mater.  The many benefits, achievements and competitive opportunities that Knox women enjoy today are the direct result of what she helped establish here in the late 1970s.
           
On the basketball court, Deb was an excellent ball handler and a tenacious defender.  On the softball field, she was a line drive hitter with speed on the bases and a strong arm.  She earned varsity letters in both sports as a starter all four years.  It was on the volleyball court, however, that Deb's tremendous athletic ability had the greatest impact.  Despite her excellent individual athletic skill, her greatest contribution to all of the teams she played on was her intangible quality as a true team leader and roll model.  Longtime Director of Knox Athletics, Harley Knosher, has identified Deb DeGraff, along with Marcia Millon and Kathy McDevitt, as the three women who did more than any others to help lay the ground work for women's athletics at the College.  Her academic achievements were equally remarkable as Deb was an Illinois State Scholar, Vice President of the Mortar Board and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
           
After leaving Knox, Deb earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.  She has taught at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine since 1991.  In 1994, Deb was awarded the Karofsky Prize, an award given annually to the Bowdoin professor who "best demonstrates the ability to impart knowledge, inspire enthusiasm and stimulate intellectual curiosity."