FROM PRESS RELEASE
(Kansas City, MO) – The 2008 candidates for the baseball division of the Lowe’s Senior Class Award were announced today, as 30 players who excel both on and off the field were selected to vie for the nation’s premier award for college senior student-athletes.
Presented annually to NCAA® Division I student-athletes in eight sports, the award focuses on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue their degree. Since that time, Lowe’s, an official corporate partner of the NCAA®, has expanded the award to include other NCAA sports including baseball.
This marks the second year for the baseball division of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. University of Alabama infielder Emeel Salem was the inaugural winner in 2007.
From the list of 30 nominees (complete list attached), a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in mid-April 2008. Those ten names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA® Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
“With the landscape of baseball over the years, these collegiate seniors deserve to be honored for staying in school, being a leader on their team, working towards their degree and making an impact in their local community,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s senior vice president of marketing and advertising. “These 30 baseball candidates are tremendous collegiate student-athletes in every sense of the word.”
Sportscaster Dick Enberg, Honorary Chairman of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men’s basketball players leaving school early for the NBA.
Lowe’s has since expanded the Senior CLASS Award program to include men’s hockey, men’s lacrosse, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s soccer.
