BATON ROUGE — The LSU Athletics Department will hold the annual Cox Communications Academic Excellence Gala on Sunday, April 10 at 7 p.m. in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom at the LSU Union.
The event will celebrate the outstanding past and present academic achievements of Tiger student-athletes. Governor Kathleen Blanco will be the keynote speaker, while football player Steve Mares and members of Elysian Fieldz will provide entertainment for the evening. Also speaking at the event will be LSU President Dr. William Jenkins, Chancellor Sean O’Keefe, Athletics Director Skip Bertman and Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes Director Dr. Roger Grooters.
Over 203 student-athletes will be recognized for their excellence in academics, including those members of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, which includes athletes with at least a sophomore standing academically with a 3.0 overall grade point average or a 3.0 grade point average in 2003-04; recipients of the Director’s Cup Award for Academic Excellence, students with a 3.0 or higher for the past year; and members of Chi Alpha Sigma, a national college athlete honor society for junior and senior athletes with a 3.4 cumulative grade point average or higher.
In addition, the men’s and women’s teams with the highest grade point averages over the previous academic year will be recognized. The men’s tennis team will be honored for carrying a team 3.24 g.p.a., while the women’s golf team will be honored for posting a team 3.368 grade point average.
Two Distinguished Alumni Awards will be handed out to current Lady Tiger basketball coach Pokey Chapman, who recently led LSU to the Final Four for the second consecutive year and was named the Naismith Coach of the Year, and East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney and former football player Dough Moreau.
Six Wally Pontiff, Jr., Academic Excellence Awards will also be presented. Student-athlete recipients of this award must be in at least their third year at LSU and have among the highest cumulative grade point averages among student-athletes. The award is named for the former Tiger baseball All-American and pre-med student-athlete, who passed away of a heart condition the summer before his senior season at LSU.
The 2005 recipients of the Pontiff Academic Excellence Award are Chelsea Agar, Margaret Beadle, Leon Cannizzaro, Margaret Moore, Rudy Niswanger and Paul White.
Agar is a senior on the women’s soccer team and maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average in biochemistry and sociology. The British Columbia, Canada, native, plans to attend dental school after graduation and was named the 2004 SEC Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a member of the 2004 SEC Good Works Team.
A senior from Baton Rouge, Beadle is a member of the women’s swimming team. A U.S. Navy first-team Scholastic All-American and USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, she carries a 3.976 grade point average in biological sciences and plans to attend medical school after graduation and specialize in oncology.
A member of the men’s swimming team, Cannizzaro is a senior from New Orleans. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average and has been accepted for early admission to the LSU Medical School and will begin classes in the fall of 2005.
Moore is a senior on the women’s swimming team from Laurel, Miss. With a 3.96 grade point average with a major in secondary education with an emphasis on mathematics, she is a two-time recipient of the College of Education’s Student of the Year Award.
Graduating in May while maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, Niswanger will play his final season on the football team in graduate school. He plans to attend medical school in the future and was a 2004 first-team ESPN Academic All-American.
White is a junior on the men’s tennis team from Lake Charles. A biological sciences major, he carries a 3.931 grade point average and plans to attend medical school upon graduation. A member and officer of Kappa Sigma, he was named their 2004 Outstanding Scholar and is the recipient of their Endowment Fund Scholarship.
While reservations for the Academic Excellence Gala are no longer being accepted to the event, members of the media who wish to attend should contact Stacie Wentz at the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills office at (225) 578-0385.