NEW YORK – Creighton volleyball star Brittany Witt and Seton Hall men’s swimming and diving standout Liam Cosgrove have been chosen as the winners of the 2020-21 BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award, as selected by the BIG EAST Conference Academic Affairs Committee.
 
The awards are given to one male and one female student-athlete from a BIG EAST-sponsored sport who have been admitted to a degree-granting or professional program for the following academic year and who have demonstrated leadership through excellence in academic credentials, athletic performance and depth of commitment to service within the institution or the community.
 
Witt and Cosgrove will each receive a $5,000 scholarship, which may be applied to postgraduate study. The award is named for Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST’s first full-time employee who served as commissioner of the conference from 1990 to 2009 and embodied leadership and dedication from the league’s inception.
 
Cosgrove is the third Seton Hall student-athlete to receive this honor. He will be pursing an advanced degree in law. Witt is the second Creighton volleyball student-athlete and third Bluejay to earn the award. She will be attending medical school at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine.


 
Cosgrove, from Sea Girt, N.J, completed his bachelor of arts degree in art design and interactive media with a focus in graphic design and advertising with a cumulative GPA of 3.737. In the 2021 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championship Presented by JEEP, the Pirate team captain defended his title for a third time in the 100-fly. Cosgrove also earned All-BIG EAST honors in the 200-medley relay and the 400-medley relay. Cosgrove was the runner-up for Seton Hall Athletic Department’s Male Athlete of the Year. For his career, Cosgrove has tallied five individual BIG EAST swimming titles. He was a key contributor in Seton Hall’s 2018 team championship. Cosgrove’s name is currently etched in the Pirate record books for three events: the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-medley relay and the 400-medley relay. Out of the pool, he is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the National Student-Athlete Honor Society. He was also a member of the Scholar All-American Team by College Swimming and Diving in 2018 and 2019. Cosgrove is a four-time BIG EAST All-Academic team honoree. He is Seton Hall’s Academic Merit Award Recipient and has been on the Seton Hall’s Dean’s list seven times. Cosgrove has contributed to the greater Seton Hall community as a volunteer for the Ocean Medical Center and organizations such Grow A Row, the Seagirt junior guards and the Seton Hall pen pal program, writing letter with a local child for five months with an in-person meeting at the end of the program.


 
Witt, an Omaha, Neb., native, earned a 3.87 undergraduate GPA while pursuing a bachelor of science degree in exercise science and pre-health professions. Witt also minored in biology. Witt had a successful career with the Bluejay volleyball program, winning BIG EAST Libero of the Year honors twice (2017, 2019) and being a part of a BIG EAST tournament and regular-season title every year wearing a Creighton uniform (2016-2019). As a rookie, she was the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East Region Freshman of the Year. In 2019, she was one of three liberos in the NCAA to earn All-America honors by the AVCA as she earned third team accolades. Witt was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week eight times and she was a member of seven all-tournament teams, including the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team in 2017 and 2019. Witt was a two-time All-BIG EAST First Team member and an AVCA all-region honoree three times. In 2019, Witt earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team and All-America Third Team awards. Off the court, Witt matched her athletic accomplishments in the classroom. She was on the Dean’s list every semester of her time at Creighton. Additionally, she was a four-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team. Witt was active in the greater Omaha community as she volunteered many hours at Omaha Children’s Hospital, Omaha Methodist Hospital and multiple middle and elementary schools.
 
Below is a list of the historic winners of the Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership award. In 2020, the awards were not given out due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award