Big East News Articles
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Cincinnati cross country and track & field standout Eric Finan has been named the 2011-12 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
A graduate student from New Richmond, Ohio, Finan will receive a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The Conference also announced the male winners of the 2011-12 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies. Finan is Cincinnati’s first BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year selection.
Finan earned all-America status in both cross country and track & field during his career after he finished 10th in the 5,000-meter run at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and was 25th at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships. He was the 2011 BIG EAST cross country champion and was the runner-up at the 2011 NCAA Great Lakes Regional after winning that event in 2010 and won a BIG EAST title in the 5,000 at last year’s outdoor track & field championship.
Finan holds school records in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 events and is the outdoor record-holder in the 5,000 and 10,000. He finished as Cincinnati’s top cross country finisher in every race since the start of the 2009 season.
Finan, who holds a 3.785 grade-point average in Cincinnati’s master of business administration program, earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering with a 3.897 GPA. He was the recipient of Cincinnati’s Legion of Excellence Award, as the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average on his team and was admitted to the College of Engineering’s Accend program, a joint undergraduate and graduate program for the most academically qualified engineering majors.
Finan was the student president of Cincinnati’s Athletes in Action program and served as vice-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Sigma Sigma honorary fraternity and has been active with a number of community service efforts.
The American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the BIG EAST Conference and American Eagle Outfitters during the 2011-12 academic year. Thirty-two student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 16 member institutions) will be named as the winners of the American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and an American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2011-12 American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards
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School
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Name
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Sport(s)
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Major
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Cincinnati
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Eric Finan
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Cross Country/Track & Field
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Master of Business Administration
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DePaul
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Matthew Graham
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Cross Country
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Political Science
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Georgetown
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Biyerem Okengwu
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Track & Field
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Government
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Louisville
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James Crick
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Soccer
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Human Performance
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Marquette
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Peter Bolgert
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Cross Country
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Physics and Math
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Notre Dame
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Adam Mena
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Soccer
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Psychology
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Pittsburgh
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Pierre-Antoine Meunier
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Swimming & Diving
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Rehabilitation Science
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Providence
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Julian Matthews
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Cross Country
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Economics
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St. John’s
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Pablo Punyed
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Soccer
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English
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Seton Hall
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Dale Anderson
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Baseball
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Social and Behavioral Science
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USF
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Phillip Wise
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Cross Country/Track & Field
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Criminology
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Syracuse
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Patrick Dupont
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Cross Country
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Music Composition
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Villanova
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Matthew Gibney
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Cross Country/Track & Field
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English
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West Virginia
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Ruben Garrido
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Soccer
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Business Administration
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American Eagle Outfitters BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
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Year
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Name, School, Sport
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1985
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Joey David, Pittsburgh, Basketball
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1986
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John Prior, Connecticut, Track & Field
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1987
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Harold Jensen, Villanova, Basketball
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1988
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Dave Echeverria, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
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1989
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Chris Craft, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
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1990
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Pat O’Kelly, Seton Hall, Soccer
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1991
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David Honor, St. John’s, Baseball
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1992
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Steve Holman, Georgetown, Track & Field
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1993
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Hector Zamora, Seton Hall, Soccer
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1994
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Sebastien Goulet, Swimming, Syracuse
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1995
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Kevin Lyles, Seton Hall, Track & Field
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1996
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Gil Kovalski, Miami, Tennis
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1997
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Christian Fogarazzo, St. John’s, Track & Field
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1998
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Errol Williams, Notre Dame, Track & Field
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1999
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Angelo Ciminiello, Providence, Baseball
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2000
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Scott VanEpps, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
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2001
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Chris Hamblin, Boston College, Soccer
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2002
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Gregory Strohmann, Seton Hall, Soccer
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2003
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Casey Schmidt, Boston College, Soccer
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2004
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Chris Wingert, St. John’s, Soccer
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2005
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Guy Melamed, Boston College, Soccer
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2006
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Trevor O’Grady, Rutgers, Track & Field
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2007
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Drew Eckman, Villanova, Track & Field
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2008
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Jeremy Stultz, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
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2009
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Zak Boggs, USF, Soccer
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2010
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Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, Soccer
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2011
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Brian Karalunas, Villanova, Lacrosse
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2012
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Eric Finan, Cincinnati, Cross Country/Track & Field
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