Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Each year, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) recognizes top performers from each of its 22 male and female sports. The awards honor student-athletes who distinguish themselves through outstanding classroom performance and athletics achievement. The ODAC has selected its 2009-10 Fall sports winners (listed below).
Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance is proud to help recognize these achievements by presenting the awards to the top male and female athlete in each ODAC-sponsored sport, applauding the commitment and desire each has shown towards collegiate excellence. The program culminates each spring when the conference names its top overall male and female athlete.
“We believe true achievement involves success gained through a combination of hard work and education,” says Matt Smith, marketing director at Virginia Farm Bureau. “Those are bedrocks of a bright future and we are proud to help recognize the excellence of the intelligent and talented young people participating in the ODAC through this partnership.”
The 2009-10 Fall sports winners:
Rebecca L. Bradford, Virginia Wesleyan, (Volleyball)
Mary Dunn, Eastern Mennonite (Women’s Soccer)
Josh Miller, Hampden-Sydney (Football)
Karissa Sauder, Eastern Mennonite (Field Hockey)
Stephen Legg, Lynchburg (Men’s Soccer)
Robert Warneford-Thomson, Washington and Lee (Men’s Cross Country)
Greg Kurkis, Washington and Lee (Football)
The awards are selected by the Sports Information Director of each member institution. In order to be eligible, the student-athlete must have a cumulative 3.2 grade point average and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her institution.
“We are proud of the accomplishments of every one of our student-athletes,” says ODAC commissioner Brad Bankston. “It is especially gratifying to be able to recognize those who personify the definition of ‘student-athlete’ through these awards, and we are proud to be affiliated with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance in this program.”
The ODAC Board of Directors created the sport-by-sport scholar-athlete awards prior to the start of the 2003-04 academic year. The conference sports information directors have selected these honors since their inception, maintaining an equitable balance of emphasis between athletic prowess and academic achievement. Inaugurated in 1984 and 1981, respectively, the Marjorie Berkley and Harry G. “Doc” Jopson Scholar-Athlete Awards are given each May to member college seniors and conference sport participants who exhibit the highest athletic, academic, and extracurricular achievements.