The Alice Bixler Scholarship Program was established in 2008 to honor Alice Bixler for her many contributions to the sport of BMX and to the Florida State BMX program.

Alice first became involved with BMX in 1974 when she took the neighborhood kids to the local track in Sarasota. It wasn't long before she started volunteering at the track as a scorer, which caused her love for the sport to grow. In 1979, the Sarasota track joined the sanction of the National Bicycle League and that same year, Florida formed the Sunshine State BMX Association (SSA). The SSA's purpose was to coordinate the state championship series and grow BMX in Florida. She joined the board and was elected secretary, but within a few months everyone else on the board resigned and she became the State Race Commissioner of Florida. And she's never looked back.

The first NBL President's Cup race was held in 1984, a state against state competition. Florida won the President's Cup 23 times, two of the Cups were retired to Florida. Alice was there for every single one of them! She was also involved with the NBL in many capacities throughout the years. She was honored by the NBL as Volunteer of the Year in 1995. In 2008 she was inducted into the NBL Hall of Fame.

Under Alice's leadership, Florida created the best and largest state program, while being sanctioned by NBL. In the past, there were as many as 22 tracks in Florida. Presently, there are 15 tracks in the state that are sanctioned through USA BMX.

In 2007, after 33 years of volunteer service, she decided that it was time to pass the primary leadership role of the SSA to some of the capable volunteers already deeply involved with the state program. That same year, to honor her support of BMX in Florida, the SSA created a scholarship program and named it after Alice.

In its first year, the Alice Bixler Scholarship program awarded three scholarships totaling $4,350. As of 2021 the program has awarded 141 scholarships totaling $137,250.

PURPOSE: The Alice Bixler Scholarship Program was created to assist students and their families in meeting the costs of furthering their education at an undergraduate college, technical/trade school, or graduate school.


DEADLINE: Application submitted by April 25, 2023, midnight EDT.

HOW AWARDED: The awards will be presented to the recipients at the Florida State Championship Series Awards Ceremony. If you are unable to be at the awards ceremony, you will be notified by email. The actual check will be sent directly to the Financial Aid office of the recipient's intended school.  

SELECTION PROCEDURE: The Scholarship Committee will review the application materials and grade the applicants on five criteria: scholastic achievement, BMX involvement, community involvement, extracurricular activities and financial need. The committee will select who they feel are the most deserving applicants. Recommendations will then be made, in order of preference, to USA BMX for final approval. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be determined by the financial need of the participant. The number of applicants selected will depend on the amount of scholarship funds available for that year.