Smeulders Earns 2nd Consecutive Division I-AAA Scholar Award

Smeulders Earns Second Consecutive Division I-AAA Scholar Award

CLEVELAND, Ohio --- University of Portland senior Robin Smeulders was named to the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team for the second consecutive season, the DI-AAA ADA announced on Wednesday. Out of a total of 95 institutions comprising the Division I-AAA membership, only Smeulders and LaSalle’s Yves Mekongo were repeat honorees on the 10-player men’s team.

“On behalf of the Division I-AAA ADA, I want to extend my congratulations to the student-athletes for their outstanding academic and athletics achievements,” stated Tim Hall, chair of the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee and athletics director at the University of Missouri Kansas City. “They model the phrase student-athlete at the highest level. We share the joy of acknowledging their momentous accomplishments.”

Smeulders, senior from Braunschweig, Germany, earned All-West Coast Conference First Team honors this season after averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and leading the Pilots to a 21-11 record. He became the 32nd player to record 1,000 career points as a Pilot in the final regular season game of the season. He also was named to the WCC All-Academic Team for the third consecutive season.

Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials for a Division I-AAA ADA member institution. He/she must have reached junior athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution (true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible) and have completed at least three academic semesters/five quarters at the nominated institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games listed on the nomination form.

Additionally, from the Scholar-Athlete teams, one male and female student-athlete was selected as the Division I-AAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year. Receiving the women’s honor was Miranda Ayim, a wellness public relations major from Pepperdine, with a 3.71 GPA; while the men’s award went to Matt Howard, a finance major from Butler, with a 3.77 GPA.

A special Review Committee of Division I-AAA athletics directors were responsible for selecting the winners. Completing this task were Committee Chair Tim Hall; Pete Carlon, Texas Arlington; Don DiJulia, St. Joseph’s; Gene Doris, Fairfield; Bill Husak, Loyola Marymount; Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul; Kelly Mehrtens, North Carolina Wilmington; Dave Mullins, East Tennessee State; and John Planek, Loyola (Ill.).

About Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its ninth year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 95 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 45th year. For more information on NACDA and the 11 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.

2010 Division I-AAA Men’s Scholar-Athlete Team
Name Institution GPA Major
Benjamin Botts IPFW 3.75 Business Management
Graham Hatch Wichita State 3.73 Chemistry
Matt Howard * Butler 3.77 Finance
Sam Maniscalco Bradley 3.38 Sports Communication
Yves Mekongo LaSalle 3.81 Integrated Science, Business & Technology
Tyler Morris Boston University 3.30 Business Administration/Management
Nick Schneiders USC Upstate 3.71 Graphic Design
Robin Smeulders Portland 3.39 Marketing/Management
Adam Templeton Drake 3.30 Marketing/Management
Steve Weingarten LaSalle 3.88 History

Honorable Mention:
Evan Fjeld, Vermont ; and Devin Gibson, Texas at San Antonio

* Scholar-Athlete of the Year