ORONO, Maine--The University of Maine announced on Thursday that 268 student-athletes will be honored and recognized for their success in the classroom at the Scholar-Athlete Recognition ceremony on Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. One-hundred eighty seven student-athletes will be recognized as Scholar-Athletes for achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average for the 2014 year and/or having a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Eighty-one first-year student-athletes will also be honored as *Rising Stars* for earning a 3.0 GPA or better in their first semester at Maine.
Now in its 26th year, the awards have been presented annually since 1989 and 3,376 medallions have been awarded. This is the 11th year in a row that over half of the student-athletes have been honored and is the largest since the inception of the awards. The event is sponsored by The University of Maine Foundation, University Credit Union, The M Club and the Alumni Association.
“This year we are celebrating 150 student-athlete accomplishments and this is certainly among the greatest,” said director of athletics Karlton Creech. “To be able to recognize over half of our student-athletes for the 11th straight year for their success in the classroom is something we are incredibly proud of. They certainly know what it means to be successful student-athletes.”
The University of Maine will honor these student-athletes at a reception on Monday, Feb. 9 in Wells Conference Center at 6:30 p.m., and also announce the annual recipients of the “M” Club Dean Smith Award, presented to the top male and female scholar-athlete. Team Maine will also be announced, to recognize the sophomore, junior or senior from each team who has achieved the highest grade point average for the 2014 calendar year.
All scholar-athletes will receive a medallion, the color of which represents the number of years that a recipient has earned the award. This year 81 student-athletes will receive their first award, a bronze medallion, 65 second time honorees will receive silver medallions and gold medallions will be presented to 38 student-athletes who are third time recipients. Three fifth year student-athletes will receive double gold medals for earning their fourth medallion.
The University of Maine is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2015. In conjunction with this, the athletic department will celebrate 150 student-athletes achievements over the next year.
