April 30, 2007
WACO, Texas - Eighteen Baylor University student-athletes and two of its athletic teams were honored for academic excellence and community service during the annual Student-Athlete Banquet held Monday evening at the Ferrell Center.
"Baylor has always been a leader in the Big 12 when it comes to academics. We are proud to recognize the student-athletes that have excelled in the classroom and on the field. Baylor's academic success starts with the student-athletes but it also is a group effort from the coaches, professors and academic support staff," said Bart Byrd, Assistant AD for Academic Services.
Each year all student-athletes are asked to vote for the professor they felt had the greatest impact on their academic career. Softball's Alex Colyer and football's Joe Pawelek presented awards to Baylor professors: Burnie Battles, Michael Bishop, Blair Browning, Dale Connally, John Cunningham, Kevin Dougherty, Jeff Hamilton, Fred Hulme, Loeen Irons, Elizabeth Kelly, Larry Lehr, Heidi Marcum, Kathryn Mueller, Steve Sadler, Lance Thomas and David Young.
Annually, the University also recognizes the student-athlete from each team that carries the highest grade-point average. Athletics Director Ian McCaw handed out academic achievement awards to the following Baylor student-athletes:
Mark Shepherd - Men's Basketball
Rachel Allison - Women's Basketball
Amanda Modglin - Volleyball
Alex Colyer - Softball
Brice Ary - Baseball
Joe Pawelek - Football
Bill Allcorn - Men's golf
Anna Rehnholm - Women's golf
Michal Kokta - Men's Tennis
Klara Zrustova - Women's Tennis
Shea Yates - Soccer
Lyndsy Bedell - Women's track
Bo Price - Cross Country
Jessica Williams - Managers/Trainers
In addition, special awards were presented to the male and female student-athletes with the highest grade-point average overall:
Robin McCown - Equestrian (4.0 GPA)
Josh Camp - Men's Track (3.96 GPA)
The Big 12 Conference Senior Award, which recognizes both a male and female senior athlete who has excelled in the classroom, on the field and in the community was awarded to Chelsi Lake, a political science major and softball student-athlete, and Shawn Bell, a football student-athlete who is currently completing his master's degree in sports management.
The NCAA Champs/Life Skills program is designed to encourage academic excellence and community outreach for student-athletes from across the country. Student-athletes from all sports participate in a variety of community outreach programs throughout the academic year. Coach Guy Morriss' football team was the winner of Baylor's 2006-07 Champs Cup for community service.
The final award of the night was the President's Cup, which is awarded to the team that carries the highest cumulative grade-point average. Byrd presented the award to the women's tennis team.
