[Back to News]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- January 11, 1999
Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour-- 517.332.5046
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Jan. 11 - The popularity
of the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete
Award is still high, as evidenced by a new record in applications
for students graduating during the 1999-00 school year.
The program, which has been recognizing student-athletes since
the 1989-90 school year, honors 24 individuals, one in each sport
in which the Association sponsors a post-season tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Award,
and presents a $1,000 scholarship in each sport.
After a one-year stoppage in participation growth, the number
of applicants rose again. A record 2,857 applications were received
from 516 schools, surpassing the 1997-98 record total of 2,785
applications. In addition to the record number of applicants,
the number of schools participating exceeded last year's record
of 504.
In addition, a record 1,205 student-athletes will be recognized
for having met the eligibility criteria for the award, even though
they were not a scholarship nominee from their school. All will
be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement.
This year's figure tops last year's record of 1,094.
The overall number of students recognized in this program set
a new record this year at 4,062; topping last year's previous
mark of 3,878.
Every MHSAA member high school is allowed to select one student-athlete
to represent it in each sport, and an individual may be nominated
in more than one sport. Birmingham Seaholm led the way in participation
this year with 21 nominees. Grosse Pointe South was second with
20 applications, followed by Okemos with 19. Farmington, Livonia
Churchill, and Midland Dow each had 18 applicants; Bloomfield
Hills Lahser, Flushing, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Spring Lake,
and Sterling Heights Stevenson each had 17; Ann Arbor Huron,
Portland, and St. Johns each had 16; and Birmingham Groves,
Grosse Ile, Grosse Pointe North each had 15 applicants.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative
grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale), and have previously
won a varsity letter in the sport in which they are applying.
Students were also asked to shown involvement in other school
and community activities, submit two letters of recommendation
and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational
athletics.
The applications will be judged by a 59-member committee of school
coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board
members from MHSAA member schools. Finalists in all sports will
be announced by January 28. Fall sports scholarship recipients
will be announced on February 9; winter sports recipients on
February on February 16; and spring sports winners will be announced
on February 23.
To honor the 24 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony
will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball
Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on
March 25.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary
membership by over 1,300 public and private senior high schools
and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common
rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government
funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such
association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament
entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these
rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments conducted
in 12 sports for girls and 12 sports for boys which attract approximately
1.3 million spectators each year.
MEDIA ADVISORY -- A complete list of scholarship
nominees and additional qualifiers for the Scholar-Athlete Award
can be found on the MHSAA Web Site. Please scan that list for
the names of student-athletes from your area. Information about
finalists and scholarship recipients will be posted o the MHSAA
Web Site according to the schedule listed in this release.