April 26, 2006
Cleveland, Ohio - Adam Degraffenreid, a defensive lineman from Charleston Southern University, and Nick Hartigan, a running back from Brown University, have been chosen as the recipients of the annual Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AA ADA) Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship. Degraffenreid and Hartigan were selected from a group of seven finalists. They will receive their awards during the DI-AA ADA reception on Tuesday, June20 at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention at the New Orleans Marriott in New Orleans, Louisiana.
"The Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association is proud to present these scholarships to these two outstanding student-athletes," said Don Kaverman, chair of the Division I-AA ADA Academic All-Star Team Selection Committee and athletics director at Southeast Missouri State University. "They represent the outstanding students-athletes found in Division I-AA football."
Football players from all Division I-AA institutions were eligible for the Division I-AA Academic All-Star Team. There were 102 nominees, of which 44 were selected to the All-Star Team. The seven finalists, from which Degraffenreid and Hartigan were chosen, were among the 44 members of the All-Star Team. Nominees were required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics credentials. They must have reached their second year of athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year at the nominated institution. They must also have participated in 50 percent of the games played at their designated position.
Degraffenreid posted a perfect 4.0 GPA in biology with a minor in chemistry. The team's defensive leader on and off the field, Degraffenreid posted 36 tackles, eight for loss with two sacks, a forced fumble and blocked field goal in the 2005 season. He led the team to a 7-4 record and the Big South Conference championship. He was a Division I-AA ADA Academic All-Star last year when he was also named All-Big South Conference. The team captain was on the conference Honor Roll three years, was CSU's Top Scholar-Athlete for football for two years and on the university's Dean's List three years. Degraffenreid intends to attend either medical school or earn his graduate degree.
A 2005 Walter Payton Award finalist as the nation's top player, Hartigan led the nation in rushing with 166.4 yards per game and in scoring with 12 points per game. The Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week six times, Hartigan was the third leading rusher in league history with 4,263 yards. He rushed for 1,498 yards in 2005, tying his own university record and was fourth in the Ivy League. He ran for 100 or more yards 22 times in his Brown career, breaking his own university record with 108 points in 2005, fourth best in the Ivy League. He is Brown's all-time leader in touchdowns with 51, rushing touchdowns with 49 and scoring with 306 points. A Rhodes Scholar finalist, Hartigan is a two-time Division I-AA ADA Academic All-Star, two-time All-Ivy League, CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. Hartigan is a history and political science major posting a GPA of 3.91.
A special Review Committee of Division I-AA athletics directors was responsible for selecting the all-star team and scholarship finalists. Completing this task were Greg Burke, Northwestern State; Don Kaverman, chair, Southeast Missouri State; Marilyn McNeil, Monmouth; Jim Murphy, Davidson; John Parry, Butler; and Tim Van Alstine, Western Illinois.
Now in its 13th year, the Division I-AA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance Division I-AA football. The Association is administered by NACDA, which, now in its 41st year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers nine professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director.
