MOUNT VERNON, IA . . . The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Coe College senior Tim Vinyard (Ottumwa, IA/Ottumwa HS) has been selected the IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2000-01academic year.
“This is the highest honor that we can bestow on a student-athlete in the Iowa Conference. I congratulate Tim for his achievements in the classroom and on the athletic field,” IIAC Commissioner John Cochrane said. “Tim has had such a positive impact on so many people at Coe and in his community. He truly represents everything that is good in intercollegiate athletics.”
Vinyard, a Biology/Pre-Medicine double major has a 3.79 grade point average, earning Dean’s List recognition throughout his collegiate career. He is a member of Mortar Board, a senior honor society and has received the K. Raymond Clark Merit Award (2000) and the Honorary Clark Merit Award (2001) in addition to numerous academic scholarships.
“Tim Vinyard is a rare student-athlete. He is one who has excelled in many ways while a student at Coe College and achieved balance between being an excellent athlete and an excellent scholar,” Heins-Johnson Professor of Biology and Chairman Harlo H. Hadow, PhD., said. “Tim upgraded his career goals from Physical Therapy to medicine, and I think his leadership ability, his academic skills, and the confidence and poise he projects, will serve him well as he applies to medical school and ultimately practices as a physician.”
Vinyard serves as a volunteer for numerous causes in his hometown. He assists at the Ottumwa Regional Hospital Outpatient Clinic, works with the D.A.R.E. Program in the Ottumwa Elementary School, serves as a basketball coach and assists with the Youth Football Punt, Pass and Kick program. At Coe, Vinyard serves on the Student Affairs Committee, the Athletic Director’s Student Advisory Committee and is a member of the Pre-Medicine/Pre-Health Club. He was selected by other student-athletes to serve on the Football Head Coach Student Athlete Advisory Committee where he was responsible for assisting in the selection process of the new head football coach at Coe in 2000.
“Everyone at Coe is very proud of Tim and pleased that he has been selected for this prestigious honor, that he richly deserves,” Coe Athletic Director John Chandler said. “By his performance in the classroom and on the field throughout his college career, Tim has exemplified the very definition of student-athlete.”
Athletically, Vinyard was a standout football and baseball player. A 2001 First Team Verizon-CoSIDA Academic All-American in football and a 2001 Verizon-CoSIDA Academic All-Region in baseball, he was a two-time All-Conference performer in 2000 (First Team quarterback and Second Team designated hitter). Vinyard owns four football records and one baseball record at Coe as well as three Iowa Conference football records (longest pass from scrimmage – 99 yards, most passing yards in a season – 2,775 yards, and most total offensive yards in a season – 2,720 yards).
To be eligible for nomination for the IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a student-athlete must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership (either on campus or in the community).
Each Iowa Conference institution can nominate one male and one female student-athlete. From the nominees submitted by the institutions, the Scholar-Athlete Recommendation Committee, comprised of three Faculty Representatives and three Sports Information Directors, select a maximum of three male and three female finalists. The Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year are selected from among the finalists by a vote of the IIAC Faculty Representatives.
Other student-athletes nominated for the IIAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year were: Central College football player Steve Perkins (Oskaloosa, IA/Oskaloosa HS), Cornell College tennis player Kevin Wagner (Appleton, WI/Appleton West HS) and Simpson College basketball player Jesse Harris (Clive, IA/Valley HS).
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