INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA has announced the six finalists for its 2005 Walter Byers Scholarship Award. The Walter Byers Scholarship is one of the most prestigious honors the NCAA bestows on student-athletes in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements and future success in their postgraduate studies and planned careers.

The NCAA selects one male and one female student-athlete as its Walter Byers Scholars each year. The Byers Scholars each receive a $21,500 scholarship to be used for graduate school and have an option for renewing the scholarship in their second year of school if they are in good academic standing and a full-time student during that second year of study. The NCAA will select the two Walter Byers Scholars in April.

The six finalists are:

Sarah Dance
Truman State University
Swimming
Major: Medicine
Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

James Davis
Rice University
Track & Cross Country
Major: Medicine
Hometown: Spring, Texas

Matthew Gunn
University of Arkansas
Cross Country & Track
Major: Law
Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho

Lindsay Hagerman
Washington and Lee University
Tennis
Major: Education
Hometown: Wichita Falls, Texas

Lauryn McCalley
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Diving
Major: Pharmacy
Hometown: Moultrie, Georgia

Todd Mortensen
University of San Diego
Football
Major: JD/MBA
Hometown: Tempe, Arizona

The Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program was established in 1988 to recognize the contributions of the former NCAA executive director, Walter Byers, and was developed to encourage excellence in academic performance by student-athletes. A Byers Scholar is recognized as an individual 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.

Award recipients are required to have at least a 3.500 grade-point average (4.000 scale), show evidence of superior character and leadership, and demonstrate that participation in athletics has been a positive influence on personal and intellectual development, among other notable qualifications.

Last year, Corrin Drakulich, a track & field student-athlete at the University of Georgia, and Joaquin Zalacain, a tennis student-athlete at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, were named the 2004 Walter Byers Scholars.