UAA Announces Sixth Annual Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Team

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - Carnegie Mellon University had 11 student-athletes named to the University Athletic Association (UAA) Presidents Scholar-Athlete Team, as announced be the league’s office.  Six football athletes, two men's track and field, along with a member of men’s soccer, men's tennis and women’s tennis from Carnegie Mellon received the prestigious honor along with 78 other student-athletes representing all eight UAA member institutions.  

To achieve this recognition, a student-athlete must earn first-team All-UAA honors and must carry a 3.50 or greater cumulative grade-point average during the playing season. Of the 78 honorees in the group, 12 were named the most outstanding performer or most valuable player in their sport by their respective UAA coaches’ group, two won NCAA individual national championships, four more were members of NCAA relay/doubles championships, and seven were awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.  This select group of scholar-athletes represents approximately 39% of the eligible All-Association first-team honorees for 2013-14.

The UAA Presidents Council created this special recognition in 2009.  The original recommendation to establish this honor came from the UAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was supported by the Athletic Administrators and Delegates Committees.
The UAA has recognized exceptional academic achievement by its student-athletes since 1998 when the Presidents Council established a program of All-Academic Recognition for student-athletes who carry a cumulative grade point average that meets the threshold for Academic All-America® recognition (currently a 3.30 GPA).  On average, approximately 56% of eligible sophomore, junior, and senior student-athletes from UAA member teams have met that threshold each year.  “While our student-athletes appreciated the All-Academic recognition, they sought something that would more directly recognize the combination of academic and athletic excellence that is at the core of the UAA philosophy,” commented UAA Executive Secretary Dick Rasmussen.  “In proposing the concept of the award, one of our SAAC members suggested — as UAA student-athletes this is what we do, this is who we are.”

As a group, UAA student-athletes and teams have consistently demonstrated high levels of both academic and athletic achievement.  The UAA Presidents Council Scholar-Athlete Team recognition demonstrates the success of these principles at the level of the individual student-athlete.

Biennial studies completed by the Association over the last twelve years have consistently shown that the cumulative grade point averages of athletic teams have been statistically equal to or greater than the campus population GPA.  In the most recent study, covering the 2010-11 academic year, 54 percent of all men’s teams and 49 percent of all women’s teams across the UAA had average cumulative GPA’s equal to or higher than the overall average for their respective campuses.  Of the 65 women’s teams and 68 men’s teams included in the study, 45 women’s teams (69 percent) and 37 men’s teams (54 percent) met or exceeded the existing 3.30 GPA standard for nominating individuals for Academic All-America® recognition.

The full list of Carnegie Mellon student-athletes that were honored is listed below.

Katie Cecil – SR - Huntington Beach, Calif. (Ocean View) - Women's Tennis
Vince Demarchi – SO - Chesterland, Ohio (West Geauga) – Football
Will Duncan– JR – Newbury Park, Calif. (Newbury Park) – Men’s Tennis
Ryan Jok – SR – Novi, Mich. (Novi) – Football
Rob Kalkstein – SR – Monroeville, Pa. (Gateway) – Football
Jacob Krause – SR – Waukesha, Wis. (Catholic Memorial) – Football
Kenneth Murphy – SR - Carlisle, Pa. (Cumberland Valley) – Men’s Track & Field
Eric Rolfes – SR - Cincinnati, Ohio (Madeira) – Football
Matt Sarett – SR - Huntersville, N.C. (Cannon) – Men’s Soccer
Tim Swanson – JR – Millburn, N.J. (Millburn) – Football