Seven Carnegie Mellon Athletes Named to the UAA Presidents Scholar-Athlete Team
July 1 - (ROCHESTER, N.Y.) - Carnegie Mellon University had seven student-athletes named to the University Athletic Association (UAA) Presidents Scholar-Athlete Team, as announced be the league’s office. Two football, soccer and swimming and diving athletes as well as a track and field runner from Carnegie Mellon received the prestigious honor along with 76 other student-athletes representing all eight UAA member institutions.. Of the seven Carnegie Mellon student-athletes, four were honored for the second consecutive year.
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 76 honorees in the group, four earned All-Association first-team honors in more than one sport and 10 were named the most outstanding performer or most valuable player in their sport by their respective UAA coaches’ group. Five were individual NCAA champions. This select group of Scholar-Athletes represents approximately 26 percent of the eligible All-UAA first-team honorees for 2009-10.
The four Tartans to repeat on the team were junior Richard Pattison (Rocky River, Ohio) of football, junior Nate Bussiere (Canton, Conn.) of men’s track and field and seniors Ryan Browne (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) and Ricky Griffin (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) of men’s soccer.
Griffin was among the 10 who were named the most outstanding performer or most valuable player in their sport. He was the Player of the Year in men’s soccer for the second straight season after helping the Tartans to a share of the UAA Championship and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Besides ending his career as a two-time UAA Player of the Year, he was also a two-time second team All-American, two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and all-time season point leader in Carnegie Mellon history. He’ll leave Pittsburgh second in career points and goals scored with 123 and 51, respectively.
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 UAA Athletic Administrators Committee and Delegates Committee.
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 58 percent of eligible sophomores, juniors 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 Scholar Athlete Team recognition demonstrates the success of these principles at the level of the individual student-athlete.
Since the inception of association play 23 years ago, 499 student-athletes from UAA institutions have been recognized as Academic All-Americans and 143 have been named NCAA Postgraduate Scholars. More than 2,275 UAA student-athletes have received All-America honors and 151 have been individual national champions or national players of the year in their sports. Teams representing UAA institutions have won 34 national championships in eight sports.
Biennial studies completed by the Association over the last 14 years have consistently shown the cumulative grade point averages of all its athletic teams combined to be statistically equal to or greater than its campus population GPA’s combined. In the most recent study, covering the 2008-09 academic year, 45 percent of all women’s teams and 47 percent of all men’s teams across the UAA had average cumulative GPA’s equal to or higher than the overall averages for their respective campuses. In addition, 88 percent of all women’s teams and 60 percent of all men’s teams had cumulative GPA’s of 3.3 or greater – the threshold for individual Academic All-America recognition.
The full list of Carnegie Mellon student-athletes that were honored is listed below.
Richard Pattison – JR – Rocky River, Ohio (Rocky River) – Football
Mike Shedlosky – JR – Bridgewater, N.J. (Bridgewater) – Football
Ryan Browne – SR – Pittsburgh, Pa. (Thomas Jefferson) – Men’s Soccer
Ricky Griffin – SR – Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. (Hastings) – Men’s Soccer
Molly Evans – JR – Butler, Pa. (Butler) – Women’s Swimming & Diving
Alex Hanson – JR – Burnsville, Minn. (Burnsville) – Men’s Swimming & Diving
Nate Bussiere – JR – Canton, Conn. (Canton) – Men’s Track & Field
