Connecticut, 1995
• 1994 Academic All-America® First Team
• 1995 Academic All-America® First Team
Rebecca Lobo was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 2008.
As an academically and athletically gifted student, the six-foot, four-inch Rebecca Lobo attended the University of Connecticut, a good school fairly close to home with a program that encouraged athletes to take their academic work seriously. During Lobo’s junior season on the women’s basketball team at UConn the Huskies had 30-3 record, although they did not make it past the quarterfinal round of the NCAA championships. The team's effort and popularity started an interest in women's sports at the university. It didn’t hurt that the team earned good time on the ESPN network. Lobo’s senior season is when it all came together. The Huskies went undefeated in twenty-eight regular season games and was victorious in its NCAA final against the University of Tennessee in a close 70-65 game. Lobo and the Huskies were once again heavily featured on ESPN, and Lobo received an ESPY Award from the network as 1995's Outstanding Female Athlete. Lobo also was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, Women's Basketball Player of the Year by the NCAA, and Woman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 1995. Along with her success on the court, Lobo managed to keep a B-plus average and earned a degree in political science.
"It's all a matter of attitude," Lobo said, "Athletes who take to the classroom naturally or are encouraged to focus on grades should be able to do well in the classroom. I believe the reason you go to college is to get your degree. It's not a minor league or an audition for the pros. The women are obviously aware of that because there is no pro league."
Lobo would go on to play professional basketball. First, in the 1996 Olympics, Lobo won a gold medal with the USA women’s basketball team. During the inaugural season of the Women's National Basketball Association, Lobo began her WNBA career. Lobo was first assigned to the New York Liberty (1997-2001), then the Houston Comets (2002) and the Connecticut Sun (2003). Lobo retired in September 2003.