University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vols Receive NCAA Degree Completion Awards
November 09, 2007 | Baseball
The Tennessee athletics department was recently notified by the NCAA that three former baseball student-athletes have been chosen to receive NCAA Degree Completion Awards. Despite having exhausted their eligibility for athletic scholarships, former Vols Scot Drucker (2004), Kelly Edmundson (2004-06) and Michael Rivera (2003-06) each will receive grants equivalent to tuition and fees and an allowance for books from the NCAA.
???These awards reflect the character of Kelly, Scot and Michael,??? UT associate athletics director and senior baseball administrator Carmen Tegano said. ???One of our primary goals at Tennessee has always been to contribute to the overall development of our student-athletes???academically, athletically and socially. We???re very pleased that the NCAA deemed these three young men worthy to receive grants to help them toward their degrees, and I???m confident all three of them will take full advantage of this opportunity.???
To be eligible for an NCAA Degree Completion Award, applicants must be entering their sixth year of post-secondary education, must have previously received athletics-related financial aid, must have exhausted their institutional eligibility (five years) for athletics-related aid and must be within 30 semester hours of completion of their first undergraduate degree.
A special committee of representatives from NCAA Division I institutions reviews all applicants and determines the recipients of the awards. Funds ordinarily allow awards to be made to less than half of the applicants.
???The degree completion program began with money from the first Final Four television contract between CBS and the NCAA in 1982,??? Dr. Leo Munson, chairman of the NCAA Degree Completion Program, said. ???Officials set up an endowment managed by the now-defunct NCAA Foundation and in 1989 officially established the program to give student-athletes who could not complete their education during their five-year eligibility period an opportunity to graduate.??
???Since the initial awards were made, more than $14 million has been awarded to more than 1,700 Division I student-athletes. Fifty-two percent of the applicants have successfully competed for the award since its inception. The graduation rate of the individuals awarded is 97 percent. The University of Tennessee has had nine former athletes participate in the program prior to the most recent awardees.???
Drucker, Edmundson and Rivera now bring UT???s total number of award recipients to 12.
Drucker pitcher for the Vols in 2004 and led the team in both wins (eight) and saves (five) while posting a 2.61 ERA. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round of the 2004 MLB draft and compiled 11 wins and 20 saves in his first three seasons of pro ball. The Miami, Fla., native sat out the 2007 campaign with an injury but has been working out in Knoxville and attending classes while preparing for a successful return to the mound next season.
Edmundson lettered for the Vols as a catcher from 2004-06 and was a member of Tennessee???s 2005 NCAA College World Series team. The Germantown, Tenn., native hit .328 that year with 75 hits. He finished his UT career with 20 home runs. Edmundson was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 11th round of the 2006 MLB draft and played one year of professional baseball.
Rivera also contributed to the Vols??? 2005 NCAA College World Series run, starting at second base and batting .331 that year. The four-year letterman from Miami, Fla., is Tennessee???s all-time leader in games played (219) while ranking fourth in hits (246). He was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2006 MLB draft?? and played one year of professional baseball.
Like Drucker, Edmundson and Rivera also have been attending classes at UT this fall in pursuit of their degrees.
