By TRICIA GARNER
Three hundred and thirty-seven BYU athletes were recognized last night at the Cougar Club’s annual Academic Athlete Honors Banquet.
The Cougar Club honors athletes who have demonstrated excellence and commitment in the classroom by earning a 3.2 GPA or higher while competing in intercollegiate sports. This year, the greatest number of student-athletes ever qualified, as over 63 percent of BYU’s 531 varsity athletes posted a 3.2 or higher GPA in either the Fall or Winter Semesters of 1998.
The average GPA for this year’s Academic Athletes was 3.53.
“Athletes need a 3.2 to qualify for the award, but many of them do much, much better than that,” Cougar Club Director Michael W. Middleton said in a news release. “This group of Academic Athletes has an average GPA of over 3.5, which means that for every Academic Athlete that just barely qualified with a 3.2, another one earned close to a 4.0. We are delighted that at BYU the term student-athlete is not an oxymoron.”
The banquet consisted of dinner and a program highlighted by remarks from BYU President Merrill J. Bateman and BYU’s NCAA representative Barbara Day Lockhart, as well as presentations by University Athletic Directors Rondo Fehlberg and Elaine Michaelis.
“You’re right at a key age where you have major choices,” President Bateman told the student-athletes. “I’m grateful you’re wise enough to combine the athletic skills you have with your intellectual skills to really take advantage of Brigham Young University.”
President Bateman issued the athletes a challenge to remain connected to the university even after graduation.
The banquet’s keynote speaker was Lockhart, BYU’s representative to the NCAA and a former Olympic speedskater. Lockhart drew on her experience as a member of the Winter 2002 Olympics Board of Ethics in her comments to the athletes, and concluded with a challenge to the athletes to turn their lives over to their Heavenly Father.
“Sports is something you do, but not who you are. Many people in sports don’t have that,” Lockhart said. “Keep the Lord first, and your life will be an adventure. Use your gifts to serve him, to love others and to build.”
BYU Athletic Directors Fehlberg and Michaelis honored 12 student-athletes selected for recognition by Eagle Hardware for their contributions through athletics, academics, leadership and community service. The overall winner of the Eagle Scholar Athlete Award was women’s swim team member Sarah Street, who was unable to attend the banquet due to her presence in Oklahoma City to prepare for the WAC Championships, which begin Thursday. Street will graduate in April with a near-perfect GPA and recently received a call to serve an LDS mission in Hong Kong.
“What pleases me is that nearly two-thirds of our athletes are academics,” President Bateman said following the banquet. “It’s a great tribute to the young people and to the university that such a large number of athletes excel in the classroom also.”
One student-athlete echoed similar sentiments.
“I think it’s a good sign that we have this many people here trying to do both (athletics and academics),” BYU baseball player Michael Davies said. “I think a lot of people do one and forget about the other.”
