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The Michigan High School Athletic Associtation Scholar-Athlete Award

Twenty-eight $1,000 Scholarships for Michigan Student-Athletes

Sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance

The Michigan High School Athletic Association believes that the athletic field of competition is an extension of the classroom, and that students who choose to participate in sports should use their entire high school educational experience to better themselves in mind, body and spirit.

In a combined effort to reward the complete student-athlete, the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance present the 16th annual Scholar-Athlete Award. The program will offer twenty-eight $1,000 scholarships for graduating seniors wishing to further their education at an institution of higher learning, including universities, colleges and trade schools.

The Process
Twenty-eight scholarships will be awarded during the 2004-2005 school year, honoring a scholar-athlete in each sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a post-season tournament. Only students graduating from an MHSAA member school during the 2004-05 school year will be eligible for the awards.

Each MHSAA member school may enter one student in each sport. A student may be nominated in more than one sport, but may only win one scholarship (a separate complete application is required for each sport).

Students must have previously won a varsity letter in one of the following sports to be eligible for the award: Baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling, girls competitive cheer (eligible for MHSAA tournament), boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, girls gymnastics, ice hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls skiing, boys and girls swimming & diving, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track & field, girls volleyball, and wrestling.

All applications must be submitted to your building athletic director. Individually mailed applications will not be accepted. See your athletic director for your school's deadline.

Awards will be presented on the following criteria:

• A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 unrounded on a 4.0 scale.
• Athletes must have won at least one varsity letter in the sport in which they are applying for the award prior to their senior year.
• Involvement in other school-sponsored activities.
• Involvement in activities outside of school (work, charities, etc.).
• Two letters of support.
• A 500-word essay describing the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics. This essay must be typed.

Individual applications must be turned in to your high school athletic director by November 22, 2004, to be processed and forwarded to the MHSAA office for judging. A school must submit all of its applications in one packet along with its School Applicant List so that they are received in the MHSAA office by 4 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 3, 2004. Each school is responsible for utilizing a delivery method which ensures that its applications arrive on time. The MHSAA is not responsible for delays caused by the school's choice of delivery service. No applications will be considered which arrive in the MHSAA office after the deadline of 4 p.m. (EST) on Dec. 3, 2004.

All nominations will be reviewed by a statewide committee of educators which will select regional winners. Regional winners will be eligible for the scholarships.

The Awards
All applicants will be presented certificates. Finalists will receive medallions. The top student-athlete in each sport will be honored in a special ceremony at the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 22, 2003.

All scholarship money will be paid directly to the institution of higher learning selected by the winner for the first year of course work. Scholarship winners must be enrolled at the institution by October 1, 2005, to receive the award. Scholarship winners will also receive commemorative medallions.

The MHSAA
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is a service organization for interscholastic athletic activities. A private, non-profit corporation based in East Lansing , the MHSAA promotes high school athletics and protects the educational integrity of the activities. Over 700 high schools and 800 junior high/middle schools comprise the membership of the Association.

Farm Bureau Insurance
Headquartered in Lansing , Farm Bureau Insurance has long been a supporter of educational activities in the state of Michigan .

The Scholar-Athlete Program is just one more way Farm Bureau Insurance is helping to make the future more predictable for the young people of Michigan .