Thirty senior men’s basketball players have been announced as candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, presented annually to a NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports. The Big 12 leads the country with five players on the list.
Texas had two players on the list ? A.J. Abrams and Connor Atchley - one of only three schools in the country (Memphis, North Carolina) with multiple players among the group. The Longhorn duo was joined by Curtis Jerrells (Baylor), Matt Lawrence (Missouri) and Paul Velander (Nebraska) to give the Big 12 the most four-year standouts on the chart.
Based on criteria focusing on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition, the award winners will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.
“At Lowe’s, we take pride in acknowledging hard work and outstanding accomplishments both on and off the court,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising. “That commitment extends beyond our employees and customers and into the communities we serve where these student-athletes become real-life mentors. We’re thrilled to honor each candidate’s contributions and look forward to recognizing the award recipients at the men’s and women’s Final Four.”
From each of the two lists of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in February 2009. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. In addition to voting by Division I head basketball coaches and national media, college basketball fans will also be able to submit ballots by text voting or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com.
The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman.
The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award is in its eighth year for men’s and women’s basketball. Previous winners of the men’s award include Juan Dixon of Maryland (2002), David West of Xavier (2003), Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph’s (2004), Wayne Simien of Kansas (2005), J.J. Reddick of Duke (2006), Alando Tucker of Wisconsin (2007) and Shan Foster of Vanderbilt (2008).
Recipients of the women’s award include Sue Bird of Connecticut (2002), LaToya Thomas of Mississippi State (2003), Alana Beard of Duke (2004), Kendra Wecker of Kansas State (2005), Seimone Augustus of LSU (2006), Alison Bales of Duke (2007) and Candice Wiggins of Stanford (2008).