Student Athletes

The National Milk Mustache “got milk? ® ” campaign recently launched the call for entries for the 15th annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Awards.   The 2012 SAMMY scholarship recognizes 25 student-athletes who excel in academics, athletics, community service, leadership and who fuel their daily success with milk. Milk Mustache celebrity judges, Dara Torres and Chauncey Billups, will help select 25 winners from across the country who will receive a $7,500 college scholarship.

Seven Baltimore-area student-athletes were among the 13 state recipients chosen for the 2013 Minds In Motion Scholarships, provided by The Allstate Foundation. A luncheon held in their honor will take place June 4 at M&T Bank Stadium, where each of the winners will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Dr. Lillian Lowery, state superintendent of schools, will be the guest speaker. This is the sixth year for the scholarship program, which awards $1,000 toward post-secondary education to each of the female and male senior student-athletes chosen who attend an MPSSAA school and participate in MPSSAA recognized sports.

Five Harford Community College Fighting Owls were recognized for their academic excellence with an award from the most prestigious collegiate committee of academics in the nation. These fall student-athletes earned Capital One Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA. Men's soccer's Kevin Connelly; Audrey Baldwin, Alex Kaputsos and Becky McManus of the women's soccer program; and volleyball's Abby Stevens were named to the Academic All-District Team for District 34. They were five of 16 junior college student-athletes named on the prestigious list among fall student-athletes.

Former MLB player Bill Ripken will headline a new charitable gala in Columbia May 9. The Grand Slam Gala also will include live and silent auctions, and athletic challenges. The Baseball Factory, a Columbia-based player recruitment and development operation, launched the gala event to support its Factory Foundation, a nonprofit designed to assist underprivileged student athletes. Dress is casual, and attendees are encouraged to wear their favorite jersey or hat. Food will be provided by Clyde's, with desserts from Elkridge Furnace Inn, Georgetown Cupcakes and Milk 'N Cookies.

Editor: The Al Cesky Scholarship Fund Inc. celebrated the 26th anniversary of the Al Cesky Scholarship Awards Banquet May 18 at the Richlin Ballroom. At the banquet, the fund awarded $54,000 in scholarships to 24 outstanding Harford County student-athletes. Those scholarship winners embody the purpose of the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund Inc., namely to preserve and keep visible the values reflected in the life and work of Al Cesky, with special reference to his contributions to spiritual, emotional and intellectual development of youth and his role in fostering community life.

Seven student-athletes from Baltimore-area schools were among 20 statewide named Maryland finalists for the 19th annual Wendy's High School Heisman Award on Thursday. Samantha Bingaman, South Carroll; Kristen Douglas, Carroll Christian; Adam Greene, Broadneck; Kyle Hawkins, Liberty; Cole Rosenberg, Hammond; Cristiana Salvatori, Notre Dame Prep; and Abby Smucker, C. Milton Wright were chosen because they “embody the Heisman spirit of hard work and dedication through their outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and community/school leadership,” according to a news release.

I am writing in regard to the front page stories from the Sunday edition about untimely death of Yeardley Love. In the article highlighting the facts of the case against her former boyfriend, George Huguely ("Huguely jury to begin deliberation Wednesday," Feb. 19), I was disturbed, as a former student athlete, coach and educator, to read the defense attorney's statement "he is what you get; he's a boy athlete. " I was disgusted by this all inclusive statement that was clearly made to convince the jury that Mr. Huguely's behavior was the norm in the athletic community.

Last week, longtime University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams announced his retirement, and very quickly Maryland announced that Texas A&M Coach Mark Turgeon will replace him. No one doubts that during contract negotiations, Turgeon had lawyers advising and representing him. Coincidentally, just days before Mr. Williams made his announcement, Jordan Williams, Maryland's star sophomore basketball player, lost his eligibility to play...

The NCAA's latest graduation numbers show nearly four out of five student-athletes earn their diplomas on time, an all-time high, and federal statistics show athletes are still more likely to graduate on time than other students.NCAA statistics show 79 percent of all freshmen entering school in 2002-03 graduated within six years, matching last year's record high. The four-class average, for students entering college between the fall of 1999 and the fall of 2002, also was 79 percent, a 1 percentage-point increase over last year's record.

I'm not a football enthusiast, nor do I care about how much a player gets paid or who is the best player. I do care about the goals our young people set and the efforts they put forth to achieve them. So why is the wrongdoing of a few eradicating the success of all Penn State students ("NCAA follows a new path with sanctions," July 25)? Yes, football is only a game to most of the public. But it is a means to a much more important goal - a college education. The students who played for Penn State not only had to study to succeed in their classes but were also committed to practice a sport which overworked, over challenged and often injured their bodies.

If Towson University President Maravene Loeschke believes what she wrote in her commentary ("Painful cuts TU needs," March 17), then she is basing her decision on false information and without regard to the motives of the athletic department led by Mike Waddell. First, it has been clearly proven that Title IX compliance is not an issue and never was. Second, how are you improving the competitiveness of the entire athletic program by eliminating two of the most competitive teams which have been part of Towson athletics for 80 years.

The top scholars in the high school football Class of 2013 will be honored Wednesday night at Martin's West during the 50th annual Scholar Athlete Award dinner, sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. The event, postponed from two weeks ago due to a forecast for inclement weather, honors 80 student-athletes from Baltimore City, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick Harford and Howard counties, with five regional winners sharing $20,000 worth of scholarship money.

Maryland defensive lineman Isaiah Ross has been suspended for a year for violations of university policy. Another player -- offensive lineman Pete White -- is leaving the team although he remains enrolled at the school. Ross is also still enrolled. Maryland would not offer details about Ross. The only offense cited in the university's "Policy on Conduct and Ethics for Student-Athletes" and the "Drug Policy for Student-Athletes" that specifically mandates a year-long suspension is a third violation of the drug policy.

On Wednesday, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association announced a joint partnership with PlayOn! Sports to provide multiplatform distribution of Maryland high school sports content. The MPSSAA Network will provide unprecedented postseason coverage of Maryland high school sports that will be made available to fans in a variety of live and on-demand platforms, according to a news release. "The MPSSAA is excited to have a partner like PlayOn! Sports to enhance coverage of high school sports and athletes in Maryland," MPSSAA executive director Ned Sparks said in the release.

Although a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference with 60 years of tradition, Maryland did not respond to a couple of phone calls from the ACC commissioner before approving the move to the Big Ten. This courtesy was owed to the commissioner and does not speak well for Maryland. An institution of our standing should not have been dictated to by the Big Ten Conference. We kowtowed to their terms by not receiving input from all those affected by this change - the students, faculty, student athletes, alumni and former athletes.

Leaving college sports conferences seems to be widespread these days ("AD optimistic about team, Big Ten move," Dec. 1). The University of Maryland president says his school will take in much more money in the Big Ten. The athletic director assures student athletes the department will continue to support them. Is it too much to hope the university will reinstate funding of the seven varsity sports that were dropped due to lack of funds? Frederick E. Knowles, Chestertown Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

In Anne Arundel County, the school board has raised the minimum requirements for students participating in sports activities. Is that too much to ask of high school athletes? Is it unrealistic to expect them to pass their classes before they're allowed to play football or basketball?The answer is no -- but school systems must show they understand that not everyone who fails does so because he or she is too lazy to do homework or show up for school.Anne Arundel's new requirements reflect respect for a school's primary mission -- to educate -- while showing compassion for students who have legitimate reasons for not doing well.

Understanding that the summer heat and the Terminator and four months of watching the AL East standings may have numbed your senses, I begin today with a warning. Sit down. Now. I have a truly shocking piece of news.There may be real movement on the matter of cleaning up college sports.No joke.I know, I know, it's a stunner. The NCAA has never been much of a self-cleaning operation. Tell them to clean up their act and they say, sure, we'll limit the number of pencils a coach can hand out and tell assistants they can only phone recruits 26 times a week.

When it comes to college athletics, it's time to speak truth to evil. You might think evil is too strong a word for what's going on in college athletics, but consider how Webster's Dictionary defines evil: morally reprehensible; causing harm; offensive. That pretty much sums up the state of big-time college sports today. The inane move of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten is simply the latest example. Here's the current reality of college sports: •NCAA Division I sports - especially at Football Bowl Subdivision schools - has nothing to do with education.

Seven student-athletes from Baltimore-area schools were among 20 statewide named Maryland finalists for the 19th annual Wendy's High School Heisman Award on Thursday. Samantha Bingaman, South Carroll; Kristen Douglas, Carroll Christian; Adam Greene, Broadneck; Kyle Hawkins, Liberty; Cole Rosenberg, Hammond; Cristiana Salvatori, Notre Dame Prep; and Abby Smucker, C. Milton Wright were chosen because they “embody the Heisman spirit of hard work and dedication through their outstanding achievements in athletics, academics and community/school leadership,” according to a news release.