The Walter Byers Scholar (also known as Walter Byers Scholarship, and Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship) program is a scholarship program that recognizes the top male and female

student-athlete Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at sec ...

in NCAA sports and that is awarded annually by the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). The NCAA's considers it its highest academic award. The NCAA initiated the Walter Byers Scholarship program in 1988 in recognition of the service of

Walter Byers Walter Byers (March 13, 1922 – May 26, 2015) was an American sports executive and sportswriter. He was the first executive director of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Early life Byers was born in Kansas City. He graduated f ...

. The award is a postgraduate scholarship program designed to encourage excellence in academic performance by student-athletes. The recipients each year are the one male and one female student-athlete who has combined the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for his or her achievements, and who promises to be a future leader in his or her chosen field of career service. Winners receive scholarships for postgraduate study.

Details

, the stipend for each Byers Scholarship was $24,000 for an academic year. The scholarship amount is adjusted for the

cost of living The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Changes in the cost of living over time can be measured in a cost-of-living index. Cost of living calculations are also used to compare t ...

. The grant may be renewed for a second year based on academic progress. Financial need is not a factor in the granting of these scholarships.

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is not required to satisfy eligibility requirements. Awards from other sources will not disqualify an applicant, except that an awardee may not use more than one NCAA postgraduate scholarship. The Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program is separate and distinct from the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Program, which provides annual awards with smaller stipends. The five-person Walter Byers Scholarship Committee, established by the NCAA membership and appointed by the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Management Councils, administers the program. The committee membership is required to include at least one man and one woman, at least one member from each division and subdivision of Division I, and one member each from Division II and Division III. Among the most recognized for post-athletic career accomplishments are Randal Pinkett and Rob Pelinka. Of the winners the one most notable for having gone professional in his or her sport is

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

veteran Rob Zatechka, who later went on to

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

. Some winners have won other notable awards. The following lists dual winners of certain awards: *

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

- Henderson, Thigpen, Pinkett * Top VIII Award - Black, Roethlisberger, Busbee, Carney * NCAA Woman of the Year Award - Black, Bersagel

Winners

The historical winners are as follows:

Notes

External links

Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program
{{Student athlete NCAA awards College sports trophies and awards in the United States Student athlete awards in the United States Scholarships in the United States Awards established in 1988

Details

Winners

See also

Notes

External links