The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- April 26, 1999

Thigpen, Ganiel are recipients of Walter Byers Scholarships

Track and field athletes Calvin Thigpen of the University of Mississippi and Gladys A. Ganiel from Providence College are this year's recipients of the NCAA's Walter Byers Scholarships.

Thigpen and Ganiel each will receive a $12,500 scholarship from the Association. They were selected from among six finalists from all divisions who were interviewed April 19 in Orlando, Florida, by the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee.

The Byers scholarships were established in 1988 to recognize the contributions of the former NCAA executive director by encouraging excellence in academic performance by student-athletes.

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 qualifications.

Following is a look at the Byers scholars:

Thigpen

Thigpen is a four-time letter-winner for Mississippi's cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams and a four-time member of the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

The chemistry and mathematics major also has been a member of Mississippi's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee and part of the search team for a new athletics director. He also is a founding member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus and a senior staff writer for The Daily Mississippian, the school's newspaper.

A former student body president, Thigpen is a member of the honors college at Mississippi, a national merit finalist, a Rhodes Scholar and a Taylor Medalist for achievement in chemistry.

He plans to obtain a second B.A. from the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, before entering the University of Mississippi School of Medicine for his medical doctorate.

Ganiel

Ganiel helped Providence qualify for four consecutive NCAA cross country championships and capture a national title her freshman year.

Providence also won three straight Big East Conference crowns during her tenure.

A three-time all-Big East academic selection, Ganiel captained the cross country and track teams as a senior.

Ganiel, a political science major, has served as a research assistant in her department and has attended national conventions and co-authored papers with professors for the American Political Science Association.

She also has served as a sportswriter for The Cowl, the Providence College school paper for four years and has performed freelance work for at least four other publications.

She plans to attend Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, to pursue a doctorate in political science.