CLEVELAND - The Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA) is pleased to announce Juliana Smith, director of human resources for the University of Oklahoma athletics department, and Stephon Fuqua, senior athletics academic counselor in the Student-Athlete Support Services Office (SASSO) at The Ohio State University, as the 2017 Rudy Keeling Scholarship recipients. Both Smith and Fuqua will receive $2,500 postgraduate scholarships toward their advanced degrees with the intention of furthering administrative their pursuits within the intercollegiate athletics industry.

As the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner, Rudy Keeling was the first African-American ever to head a major sports conference, a position he held from 2007 until his retirement in January 2013. He was also a former member of the MOAA Board of Directors. Candidates for the scholarship were reviewed by the MOAA leadership and members of the Keeling Family.

"Rudy Keeling was a trailblazer for both current and aspiring intercollegiate athletics administrators. This year, we are fortunate to recognize two individuals with Postgraduate Scholarships in honor of Rudy’s legacy. Congratulations to both Stephon and Juliana," said MOAA President Mario Moccia, director of athletics New Mexico State University.

Smith is active within the department and on campus, working with a variety of committees and groups including the Athletics Department Staff Council, Athletics Diversity Council, Strategic Planning Committee, Athletics Collaboration Team, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and Academics and Diversity Council.

Smith relocated to Oklahoma to work in athletics administration as an athletics diversity council graduate assistant. Her duties included collaborating with the senior associate athletics director/SWA on day-to-day operations related to oversight of student-athlete development, strength and conditioning, sports medicine, student-athlete housing, gender equity/Title IX initiatives and strategic planning. Prior to working with the Sooners full-time, Smith was at Texas Tech as the director of operations for golf, tennis, track and field and cross country.

At the University of Mississippi, Smith graduated Cum Laude and was an accomplished track and field student-athlete, earning All-America honors in the weight throw in 2011 and finishing as the event’s SEC Champion in 2009. She was Ole Miss’ NCAA Woman of the Year nominee in 2011.

Throughout his career in higher education, Fuqua has always found ways to demonstrate and build his leadership skills within various settings. During his five year tenure at the University of Cincinnati, he provided support to the men’s basketball and men’s and women’s golf teams and assisted them in getting the resources they needed to be academically successful.

While he officially began his graduate program two years ago, his research interests can be traced back to his time as student-athlete at the University of Akron. Upon entering his undergraduate program at Akron, he was considered "at-risk" in terms of retention. However, he knew the importance of earning a degree and worked extremely hard to do so regardless of his academic preparedness.  Currently, he is in the process of creating an assessment tool that will examine the overall health and personal development of student-athletes.

Fuqua earned a bachelor's degree in business and organizational communication from 2008. He also participated in football and track as a student-athlete with the Zips, helping Akron to the 2005 Mid-American Conference championship in football. He later was selected as a 2009 undrafted free agent with the NFL's New Orleans Saints.  In 2010, Mr. Fuqua received a master's in Sport Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.

Fuqua has continued to be active within his local community by serving on the board of advisors for a Cincinnati-based non-profit called Fighting Chance, working specifically with a crime prevention based program called H3 Cincinnati, and volunteering at the Boys and Girls club.

About the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association:
In partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Minority Opportunities Athletic Association promotes equitable employment opportunities for minorities in the athletics industry through the exchange of ideas, the creation of networking opportunities and the avocation of an increase in employment for minorities in athletics administration positions at all levels of the sports industry. The association also promotes cultivating a sports environment that supports the values necessary to accept aspiring professionals from all walks of life.