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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

Eligibility

1. A student must be enrolled at and participating in interscholastic athletics at a Michigan High School Athletic Association member school.

2. A student must be a senior at the MHSAA member school and will graduate during the school year in which the award is being applied for.

3. Applications may be submitted in the following sports in which post-season tournaments are sponsored by the MHSAA: baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling, girls competitive cheer, 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 and diving, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, girls volleyball, and wrestling.

4. A student must have, prior to senior year, won a varsity letter in each sport in which application is made for the award.

5. A student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50 of a 4.00 scale. You may not round up a 3.4x grade point average for the purposes of qualifying.

6. A student must be enrolled at the institution of higher learning by October 1 following his or her high school graduation to receive a scholarship.

Application

1. A school may nominate only one student-athlete in each sport. However, a student-athlete may apply in as many sports as he or she qualifies for.

2. A separate valid application is required for each sport. (See 3 below.)

3. A valid application consists of the following: Application form; no more than two (2) typewritten letters of recommendation, no longer than two (2) pages each; and a 500-word typewritten essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

4. Applications may be downloaded from the MHSAA Web site, or from the MHSAA CD-ROM sent to member schools each August. To use the online application, just download the files, fill out the information, save a copy for your records, print the documents, and deliver to the athletic director.

5. It is recommended that individual applications be submitted to the school athletic director or administrator in charge of this award by Monday the week of Thanksgiving (the date is listed below). The use of this application date is optional, and its use may vary from school to school.

6. A school shall submit all of its applications at one time, in one envelope, to the MHSAA office. The School Applicant List, signed by the building principal and athletic director, shall be included in the envelope to validate the entries. If MHSAA staff discovers the absence of the School Application List from a school’s envelope, staff will make an immediate attempt to contact the principal of that school via telephone, with that school to submit the School Application List by Noon (EST) the following business day, or those applications will not be accepted. Those individuals will be recognized as applicants for the award, but their entries will not be judged.

7. 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.

8. All applications must be received in the MHSAA office by the end of its business day on the Friday following Thanksgiving weekend to be eligible to be considered for the award (the date is listed below). Applications received after the deadline will be returned to the school athletic director. No exceptions will be made for any reason.

9. Incomplete individual applications will not be recognized, nor will they be judged. Attachments, such as letters of recommendation, sent directly to the MHSAA office, will be returned to the school athletic director.

Judging

1. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of educators from MHSAA member schools.

2. The judging process will take place during December and January.

3. The committee will meet in the MHSAA office to select finalists and scholarship recipients.

Notification

1. All written communication will be sent to member school athletic directors.

2. Schools are responsible for keeping their applicants and their families informed regarding their status in the competition.

3. The MHSAA Web Site will be utilized for the following:
a.) exclusive announcement of complete list of applicants
b.) exclusive announcement of finalists.
c.) public announcement of scholarship recipients.

4. Schools are responsible for reviewing the list of applicants for errors involving their school, and reporting such errors back to the MHSAA office in a timely manner.

5. Schools of finalists are required to submit one (1) photograph of each individual to the MHSAA office within two (2) weeks of notification. Schools of scholarship recipients will also be required to send one (1) photograph.

6. Schools of scholarship recipients will be sent a packet prior to the public announcement, including materials which must be filled out and returned to the MHSAA office by the dates listed on the forms.

7. A complete list of winners will be posted on the MHSAA Web Site – www.mhsaa.com.

Awards

1. A student may only receive one scholarship, regardless of the number of sports in which applications are submitted by that individual.

2. The scholarship shall generally be paid directly to the institution of higher learning the student will attend upon graduation from high school.

3. Each scholarship recipient shall receive a commemorative medallion.

4. Each finalist shall also receive a medallion..

5. Each applicant shall receive a certificate.

6. Scholarship recipients will be invited to participate in presentation ceremonies during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals.