Bing awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarship

[rainbowgirl28]

http://hokiesports.com/track/recaps/20070628aab.html

Bingaman awarded NCAA postgraduate scholarship
Kreb and Samaniuk named Academic All-Americans
June 28, 2007

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Wednesday was a big day for three Virginia Tech track and field student-athletes, as all three earned prestigious academic honors to cap successful athletic careers. Pole vaulter Adam Bingaman was named a recipient of an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, while pole vaulter Joe Samaniuk and heptathlete Gunild Kreb were selected as Academic All-Americans.


The NCAA awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 male and 29 female student-athletes in all three NCAA divisions who participated in spring sports this academic year.


Bingaman (New Berlinville, Pa.) posted a career-best of 5.15m (16'10.75") in the pole vault during the 2007 outdoor season, earning All-ACC honors with a third-place finish at the ACC Championships. Additionally, he placed 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after tying for fourth at the NCAA East Regional Championships.


Academically, he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.71 GPA in May with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He will begin work on his PhD in electrical engineering in the fall, and plans to focus on either controls or digital signal processing. He served on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee for three years, and was selected to the 2007 Academic All-District III Men's Track & Field/Cross Country second team.


The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated. In maintaining the highest standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study in an accredited graduate degree program.


To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.


In addition to the spring sport honorees, the NCAA also awards 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and winter sports in which the NCAA conducts championships or participates in as an emerging sport, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually. Bingaman joins Virginia Tech women's soccer goalkeeper Mallory Soldner, who was honored in the fall.


Also on Wednesday, Kreb and Samaniuk were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country Team as selected by CoSIDA. On the women's side, Kreb (Winterbach, Germany) made the first team after earning second-team honors a year ago. She placed fourth in the heptathlon at the ACC Outdoor Championships this season. During the indoor campaign, she earned All-ACC honors in the pentathlon with a second-place finish before taking 12th at the NCAA Championships. She is pursuing a PhD in education, curriculum & instruction and currently sports a 4.0 GPA.


Samaniuk (Rexford, N.Y.) was named to the men's third team after qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the pole vault with his third-place performance at the NCAA East Regional. He recorded a personal-best vault of 5.32m (17'5.5") during the outdoor season, and was an all-conference selection at the ACC Championships with his third-place finish. He owns a 3.92 GPA in chemical engineering. Both Kreb and Samaniuk were two-time members of the Academic All-District III first team.


The Academic All-America program annually honors over 1600 student-athletes who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America), a 2,000-member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.


To be eligble, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

[vaultmd]

Wow! Congratulations!

I feel smarter just posting in the same forum as Bing.

[SlickVT]

Thanks.

If anyone who vaults in college or knows someone interested in applying for the scholarship, please PM me and I will send you the links. Most people don't even know that this scholarship exists, and it is a pretty big deal for someone trying to make it through grad school.

It is open to anyone in Division I, II and III, and since pole vaulters are generally bright people, we should have a shot if enough people apply.
I really hope someone else benefits from finding out about this from this post!

P.S. Chris Helwick of Tennessee also earned a scholarship.

[vaultman02]

Apparently, the NCAA scholarship committee likes pole vaulters because two of us from Texas Tech also got the award. If you're a pole vaulter it sounds like you have a pretty solid chance at being awarded!