Nov. 30, 2011
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - Senior Brent Richards has been named the 2012 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This is the third such honor for the UW men's program in school history. George John earned the honor in 2008 and Rylan Hawkins in 2009. Each year, the Pac-12 picks one student-athlete from each sport that is a senior to be the scholar-athlete of the year for that sport. This year, UW's Christina Babock from women's cross country also earned the award in her sport. The Camas, Wash., native leaves UW as one of the most decorated student-athletes in men's soccer both on and off the field. All four years at UW he led the team in goals, assists, shots, game-winning goals and points. All-time in school history he ranks ninth in goals and is tied for 10th in points. He was a two-time team captain, pre-season All-American and ranked by TopDrawerSoccer.com as one of the top MLS picks and seniors in 2011. He was a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection, a 2010 Third-Team ESPN Academic All-American, a LOWE's Senior CLASS Award candidate, 2010 NSCAA Scholar All-American and an Academic All-District selection (three times). "It is always a challenge selecting the Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year because there are so many remarkable student-athletes in our Conference," Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said. "The Pac-12 is extremely proud of it's heritage of academic and athletic excellence and this group of student-athletes is an example of achieving balance and success at the highest levels." In order to be eligible for the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, student-athletes must be a senior (in athletics eligibility) on track to receive a degree, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, participate in at least 50% of the scheduled contests in the sport and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution. Each Pac-12 institution may nominate one individual per sport, and the winners are selected by a committee of Pac-12 staff members at the conclusion of each sport's regular season. The athletic accomplishments of the nominees are a consideration in the voting for the award. Scholar-Athletes of the Year in each sport will receive a commemorative award. Toyo® will donate $1,000 to the scholarship funds of the institution's athletic department of each winner in recognition of their accomplishments. "Toyo is proud to support the Pac-12 and to acknowledge outstanding student-athletes for their efforts," said Stan Chen, manager of events and motorsports, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. "By supporting today's achievers, we feel we are helping to grow tomorrow's leaders." The Pac-12 Conference, in cooperation with Pac-12 corporate partner Toyo Tires, established the "Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards, presented by Toyo Tires" during the 2007-08 academic year. Other winners include: Women's Soccer - Teresa Noyola, STAN; Men's Cross Country - Chris Derrick, STAN; Volleyball - Tarah Murrey, CAL and Football - Jared Karstetter, WSU. |
