Huskers Honored as Distinguished Scholar Award Recipients

Lincoln, Neb. - The Big Ten Conference announced on Wednesday that 65 Nebraska student-athletes were selected as recipients of the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The list includes 587 Big Ten student-athletes from every institution and 36 different sports who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

Coach Gary Pepin's track and field squad led all Nebraska selections with 16 student-athletes on the list. The Nebraska football team added six student-athletes, while the women's soccer and cross country teams each had five student-athletes awarded.

In February of 2008, Big Ten Faculty Representatives established a conference academic recognition to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only student-athletes with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student-athlete's academic career.