CLEVELAND, Ohio — UTSA junior guard Devin Gibson was named to the eighth annual Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA) announced on Thursday.
Gibson was one of 12 players selected to the team and joins Kurt Attaway as the second Roadrunner honored on the organization’s academic squad.
The Houston native garnered second-team All-Southland Conference honors this season after averaging 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game in helping UTSA to a 19-11 record. Gibson shot 82.5 percent from the free-throw line and played 35.1 minutes per contest. He became just the 13th player in school history to surpass 1,000 career points and now ranks ninth with 1,104 points. The Cy-Falls High product and 2008 Southland Freshman of the Year carries a 3.22 gpa in infrastructure assurance and information systems with a minor in finance and was a 2009 Southland All-Academic Team honoree.
“On behalf of the Division I-AAA ADA, I want to extend my congratulations to the student-athletes for their outstanding academic and athletics achievements,” said Tim Hall, chair of the Division I-AAA ADA Scholar-Athlete Team Selection Committee and athletics director at UMKC. “They model the phrase student-athlete at the highest level. We share the joy of acknowledging their momentous accomplishments.”
Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions, which include schools at the NCAA Division I level that do not play football, are eligible for these prestigious awards. Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 (on a four-point scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. He must have reached junior athletics and academic standing at the nominated institution (true freshmen, redshirt freshmen and ineligible athletics transfers are not eligible) and have completed at least three academic semesters/five quarters at the nominated institution. Nominated student-athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games listed on the nomination form.
Additionally, from the Scholar-Athlete teams, one male student-athlete was selected as the Division I-AAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The men’s award went to Matt Howard, a finance major from national runner-up Butler, with a 3.77 gpa.
A special Review Committee of Division I-AAA athletics directors was responsible for selecting the winners. Completing this task were Committee Chair Tim Hall; Pete Carlon, UT Arlington; Don DiJulia, St. Joseph’s; Gene Doris, Fairfield; Bill Husak, Loyola Marymount; Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul; Kelly Mehrtens, North Carolina Wilmington; Dave Mullins, East Tennessee State; and John Planek, Loyola (Ill.).
About Division I-AAA ADA: Now in its ninth year, the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association's mission is to enhance initiatives common to its Division I-AAA membership (the 95 Division I institutions that do not sponsor football), in particular, aspects related to their flagship basketball programs. For more information on the Division I-AAA ADA, please visit www.div1aaa-ada.com. The Division I-AAA ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 45th year. For more information on NACDA and the 11 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.
Men’s Scholar-Athlete Team
Benjamin Botts, IPFW (3.75/business management)Evan Fjeld, Vermont (3.23/business)
Devin Gibson, UTSA (3.22/infrastructure assurance & information systems)
Graham Hatch, Wichita State (3.73/chemistry)
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley (3.38/sports communications)
Yves Mekongo, LaSalle (3.81/integrated science, business & technology) ^
Tyler Morris, Boston (3.30/business administration & management)
Nick Schneiders, USC Upstate (3.71/graphic design)
Robin Smeulders, Portland (3.39/marketing & management)
Steve Weingarten, LaSalle (3.88/history)
^ Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Frank Turner, Canisius
