DESTIN, Fla. - The Sun Belt Conference honored the academic and athletic achievements of its schools and student-athletes on Tuesday night during the conference’s annual spring meetings in Destin, Florida.
The 2014 Vic Bubas Cup, given to the school gaining the most cumulative points in the league’s 17 sponsored sports, was presented to Western Kentucky University.
The 2013 Sun Belt Conference Graduation Rate Award was also handed out Tuesday night with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette winning the annual award for academic achievent from the previous year’s cohort.
The Sun Belt Conference also recognized the significant accomplishments of four student-athletes at its annual Tuesday evening Honors Banquet. The conference announced Arkansas State’s Sharika Nelvis and Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter as the Sun Belt Athletes of the Year. Also, Troy’s Courtney Cohen and South Alabama’s Rush Hendricks were announced as winners of the Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Awards (biographies of the four student-athletes are below).
The following student-athletes were named to the Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team: Benjamin Dillard, UALR; Endsley Evans, Arkansas State; Callie Alford, Georgia State; Kaylee Nemeth, UL Lafayette; Jon Fisher, UL Monroe ; Ross Metheny, South Alabama; Darien McLemore, UT Arlington; Jourdan Brown, Texas State; Langley Vannoy, Troy; Torrie Lange, WKU. The award is given to a letter-winning student-athlete, based on leadership, sportsmanship, community service, citizenship, academic excellence and any other qualities valued by the institution. Each institution was asked to nominate a student-athlete.
The Sun Belt Conference’s annual meetings include the senior staff of the conference office along with each member school’s Chief Executive Officer, Faculty Athletic Representative, Athletic Director, Senior Woman Administrator, Head Football Coach, Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Head Women’s Basketball Coach. The meetings conclude Wednesday morning.
Female Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year
Courtney Cohen – Troy University – Volleyball
Studying abroad often provides college students with unique opportunities to learn about the world, outside of their college campuses.
For Troy senior Courtney Cohen, her trip to Costa Rica during the summer of 2013 opened her eyes to medical systems abroad. It further motivated her to pursue a career in medicine, which she plans to do at the Mercer University Physician Assistant Program to earn a Master of Medical Science. Upon becoming a physician assistant, Cohen says she will act on her desire to travel abroad and treating patients in impoverished regions of the world. Taking these mission trips will be an important aspect of her future following a decorated one as a student-athlete.
Cohen has been a Chancellor’s List (4.0 GPA) and Commissioner’s List honoree since she began her studies at Troy University. Cohen will graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences with a cumulative GPA of 3.96. She was a Capital One Academic All-American Third Team selection this past season and has been a Capital One Academic All-District Team selection the past three seasons.
Cohen has been a leader on the volleyball court for the Trojans all four seasons playing at the libero position. During her time at Troy she has earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors four times and was named a Sun Belt All-Conference Second Team award winner in 2011. She was a member of the Skyhawk Invitational All-Tournament team and Southern Miss Invitational All-Tournament Team. She is the career digs leader at Troy with 2,077 and is just the sixth student-athlete in Sun Belt Conference volleyball history to accumulate 2,000 career digs.
A native of Woodstock, Ga., Cohen will begin her studies just down the highway from her hometown at Mercer University in the fall. Her postgraduate studies will utilize the two passions she has worked her whole life to combine: Medicine and serving others. Mission accomplished.
Male Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year
Rush Hendricks - South Alabama – Football
Becoming a Division I student-athlete requires many decisions, sacrifices and opportunities and each have profound effects on life as a student and athlete.
Thankful for his opportunity and with a foundation of knowledge crafted from hard work and sacrifice, South Alabama senior Rush Hendricks is the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Male Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year. Hendricks enters the University of South Alabama physical therapy program after earning an award that he feels epitomizes his student-athlete career.
Hendricks was a four-year member and three-year letterwinner in helping to start up the South Alabama football program. The team finished 6-6 and was bowl eligible for the first time in school history last season. Hendricks played in all 12 games last season and he was among the team leaders in special teams tackles. He had six unassisted tackles in total on the year.
The exercise science major is a 2013 CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District Four tight end and has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s list from 2011-12 and 2012-13. Through all four years of school, Hendricks has maintained a 4.0 GPA. He has also been a Presidential Scholar at South Alabama 10 consecutive semesters and was recognized following the Spring 2014 semester by the faculty as an Outstanding Student in the Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Studies department award to one senior every year.
Hendricks looks back on his experience as a student-athlete with nothing but gratitude for the experiences and opportunities while representing South Alabama on the football team. His life-long goal of becoming a physical therapist is on the horizon after gaining entry into a program that only accepts 10 percent of more than 400 applicants, allowing only the best to be allowed admittance. With his dreams close to reality, Hendricks spoke about how he can take lessons learned from head coach Joey Jones, his professors, advisors and fellow student-athletes into his new challenge with the University of South Alabama physical therapy program.
It is also this award, he said, that will illustrate the enormity of their contributions to his success. As Hendricks said, “There would be no greater honor than to represent the University of South Alabama and the Sun Belt Conference as Male Postgraduate Scholar Athlete of the Year.”
Sun Belt Female Athlete of the Year
Sharika Nelvis – Arkansas State – Track and Field
Winning an individual NCAA national championship does not happen overnight. Just ask Arkansas State senior Sharika Nelvis.
The award for Sun Belt Conference Female Athlete of the Year is the celebration of a career’s worth of work that produced one of the most highly-acclaimed track and field seasons in league history. The hard work put in, which included perseverance through a freshman year of no competition, has resulted in one of the most decorated careers in Sun Belt Conference track and field history. Nelvis became the 2014 NCAA Indoor National Champion in the 60-meter hurdles and was named a First Team All-America in the indoor 60-meter hurdles last season.
Her journey began when she decided to pursue something that no one in her family had ever obtained: A bachelor’s degree from a four-year institution. After sitting out her entire freshman year due to academic ineligibility, Nelvis dedicated herself during the year to her studies so in the future she could put that same dedication towards becoming one of the best sprinters and hurdlers in the country. Eager to get on the track her sophomore year she earned immediate honors as a Sun Belt Champion in the indoor 55-meter dash, 55-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash. She was also named the Sun Belt Track Indoor and Outdoor Outstanding Freshman in 2011.
The NCAA Championship was just the end of a long list of recognitions this year. Nelvis was also a First Team All-American in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles and Second Team All-America in two other events (indoor 200-meter, long jump) just this past year. She was named the Sun Belt Conference Most Outstanding Track Athlete following the 2013 outdoor season and 2014 indoor season. Nelvis was the conference champion in four indoor events: The 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash and the long jump, all in the last year.
The Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame recognized Nelvis as a finalist for its annual Star of Tomorrow Award this year. In the past year she has been honored as the Sun Belt Track Athlete of the Week four times.
Hailing from Memphis, Tenn., Nelvis has excelled on the track but also volunteered her time at the local Head Start programs in Jonesboro. In all things, Nelvis has kept the same positive attitude that has led her to one of the Sun Belt Conference’s highest honors following a record-setting season.
Sun Belt Male Athlete of the Year
R.J. Hunter – Georgia State – Basketball
First, the story of R.J. Hunter revolved around the relationship with his father who, also, is his coach.
Then the 2014 season happened and that’s when Georgia State sophomore R.J. Hunter’s play did all of the talking.
After leading the Georgia State Panthers, with his father Ron Hunter as head coach, R.J. Hunter adds yet another accolade as the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year to a growing list of awards.
The accolades following the 2014 season were plentiful: AP All-America Honorable Mention, Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Sun Belt All-Conference First Team, NABC All-District 24 First Team, Lou Henson Award Finalist (Top Mid-Major Player) and Atlanta Tipoff Club Georgia College Player of the Year.
Hunter finished the year with 604 points scored, tied for the fourth most in a single season at Georgia State. He also became the first student-athlete in Georgia State history to make 100 3-points in a season. By year’s end he ranked in the Top 25 in the NCAA in 3-point field goals made, 3-point field goals per game, free throw percentage and 3-point field goal attempts.
2014 was also a record-breaking year for the Georgia State men’s basketball program. The team won the 2013-14 Sun Belt Conference regular-season title, won the second-most games in program history (25) and advanced to the Men’s Basketball NIT Championship.
The potential was always there for a star. R.J. Hunter earned the Rookie of the Year and all-conference first team honors during his freshman campaign. He was also one of just three student-athletes in the country to average at least 17 points and five rebounds per game.
He may be an even bigger contributor off the court as R.J. Hunter along with his father Ron Hunter donate time, effort and hope to children around the world through Samaritan’s Feet. This summer, just like last summer, R.J. Hunter along with his teammates will travel to Costa Rica to once again deliver shoes to children in need.
Whether it’s assisting a children in need or reinvigorating a fan base ready to support a winning program, R.J. Hunter’s 2014 season has reached an unparalleled level of fanfare.