Huskers Earn 18 B1G Distinguished Scholar Awards

The Big Ten Conference announced on Wednesday that 914 students - including 18 members of the Nebraska track and field team - have earned the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award. The list includes students from all 14 institutions and 38 different sports who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

Four Huskers earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the term - Levi Gipson (nutrition, exercise & health science), Cody Rush (nutrition science), Angela Mercurio (biochemistry) and Bonnie Smith (biochemistry). 

The other honorees include Nolan Border, Sam Bransby, Cam Holmes, Jacob Olson, Sean Pille, Drew Wiseman, Paula Andrie, Melanie Blum, Karlye Cygan, Danielle Jones, Megan Lush, Karolina Pahlitzsch, Morgan Smith and Tierra Williams.

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 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 students 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’s academic career.

A complete list of the 2015-16 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients is attached as a PDF.