Jill Lee
Jill Lee's Columns
2017-18 Senior CLASS Award Highlights
June 14, 2018
Another year. Another 10 outstanding student-athletes honored as Senior CLASS Award winners. We love it! From fall to spring, the 2017-18 academic year gave us some incredibly memorable winners. So, to recap this season, we’d like to recount three of our internal highlights from this Senior CLASS Award year. Take a look!
1. Okay, let’s be honest here. Football winner Shaquem Griffin had one of the most amazing stories in all of sports this year, and we were thrilled to be able to honor… Continue Reading…
The Phenomenal Shaquem Griffin
May 09, 2018
If you followed the NFL Draft this year, you undoubtedly heard about the one-handed linebacker from UCF who was drafted in the second round by the Seahawks. How can you NOT hear about that? It’s an extremely unique story. And (not to pat ourselves on the back, but…) we knew it was coming.
Last fall when our committee was reviewing Senior CLASS Award nominations for football, they came across one that caused everyone to pause. It was, of course, Shaquem Griffin—a first-team All-ACC… Continue Reading…
Senior CLASS Award Year in Review
June 29, 2017
Every spring when the academic year comes to a close, we get a chance to look back on the “year that was” in the world of the Senior CLASS Award (SCA). It’s always inspiring to remember the student-athletes who were honored and recall what they’d done to deserve the honor.
This year was certainly one to remember for the SCA staff, as it featured several firsts in award history. We saw our first set of twins make it to the round of finalists when Minnesota volleyball stars Paige… Continue Reading…
Foltz Receives Historic First Honorary Senior CLASS Award Nomination
October 31, 2016
The email tugged at all of our heartstrings.
It came to the inbox of Senior CLASS Award Director Erik Miner in early September from Nebraska Assistant A.D. Keith Mann, who said he had a unique question about the SCA nomination process.
Earlier in the summer, Nebraska had endured one of the most tragic scenarios imaginable earlier in the summer when Sam Foltz, their first-string punter, had been killed in an automobile accident on his way back from a kicking camp in Wisconsin. As… Continue Reading…
The Epitome of Senior CLASS
January 11, 2016
It’s not often that an athlete is referred to as the “most important player in school history,” but when one is, it’s a good idea to take notice. This season, that’s what ESPN.com writer Alex Scarborough labeled Mississippi State senior quarterback Dak Prescott after he spent four years rewriting the school record books and restoring winning ways to Starkville.
Just before Prescott went out and led his team to a dominant victory in the 2015 Belk Bowl, it was announced that the… Continue Reading…
Senior CLASS Goes Beyond the Stats and Grades
March 11, 2015
Let’s be honest. The first things we usually look at when we read the bios of the Senior CLASS Award nominees are their stats and grade-point averages. What are they doing on the court or field, and how are they performing in the classroom? Undoubtedly, those are important categories—nonnegotiable, in fact. But if we skim over the middle two categories—character and community—we’re really missing out on the absolute best parts of these student-athletes.
One of the great things… Continue Reading…
