WILLARD NAMED NSIC’S TOP MALE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE

Aberdeen, S.D. - Northern State senior Tucker Willard has been named the top male scholar-athlete in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for the 2002-03 academic year. The announcement came today from the NSIC office in Minneapolis, Minn.

Willard, a native of Murdo, S.D. and graduate of Jones County High School, has performed admirably both on the athletic field and in the classroom while attending Northern State University. An elementary education major and music minor, Willard boasts a 3.87 GPA and has achieved numerous academic accolades that include the following: Northern State President’s and Dean’s List, NSU Honor Society, four-time NSIC all-academic team member (football and track), recipient of the Vice-President’s Scholarship, member of the Royal Order of the Maroon and Gold and was named NSU football’s outstanding student-athlete.

Willard has also been involved in various university and community activities while attending Northern State. He was a member of the NSU choir, band and student senate, a Newman Center and distance learning volunteer, served as a resident assistant and hall director, as well as, a Gypsy Day marshall, reading clinic tutor, member of the SDEA and MENC, S.A.M.s club lock-in volunteer and has participated on the affirmative action and SBAC budget committees. In the Aberdeen community, he has served as a northeastern mental health volunteer and local middle school math mentor, a punt, pass and kick assistant and worked as a YMCA referee. Willard’s other volunteer commitments have included the following organizations: Take a Kid to the Game, Game Fish and Parks Water Festival, Dakota House, Safe Harbor, community clean-up and confirmation retreat.

In the athletic arena, Willard has earned letters in football and track & field. During his tenure for the Wolves, he captured the NSU football Mr. Hustle award and was a five-time lifter of the week. He also participated in the long and triple jump for the Wolves’ track & field team. Willard is Northern State’s fourth Britton Award recipient, joining Jeff Kretchman (1986), Jay Kusler (1993) and Lance Luitjens (1996).

The 19th annual Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Excellence was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton - a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University. To be nominated for the Britton Award, the student-athletes, who were selected by their institution, must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.2 or better (based on a 4.0 scale), evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum GPA (scholarships prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual’s primary sport.

Winona State University’s Karen Darveaux earned the Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence recognizing the NSIC’s top female scholar-athlete.

The 20 student-athletes that were nominated for the NSIC’s two most prestigious individual awards will also be honored as NSIC Male and Female Honor Student-Athletes of the Year at each of their respective institutions. Willard and Darveaux will be recognized on Friday, July 25 at the 2003 NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet held at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Willmar, Minn. Both honorees will receive a $1,000 scholarship towards a postgraduate education.

--NSU--