The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Foundation again this year is providing a special scholarship grant to one member of each team that participated in the 2002 Kickoff Classic and Pigskin Classic, the two NACDA-sponsored preseason football games.

The four $5,000 grants are awarded annually to a varsity football letter-winner from each team. The student-athlete must be in his final year of eligibility and carry a minimum grade-point average of 3.000 (4.000 scale). NACDA's charitable arm, the NACDA Foundation, provides the scholarship funding for use in postgraduate study.

Winners of the 2002 scholarship grants are Texas Tech University long snapper Eric Bartee, who majors in exercise and sports science; University of Notre Dame center John Crowther, a finance major; Ohio State University punter and marketing major Andy Groom; and Todd Wike, a center/guard from the University of Maryland, College Park, who majors in philosophy.

Ohio State defeated Texas Tech, 45-21, in Pigskin Classic XIII, while Notre Dame blanked Maryland, 22-0, in Kickoff Classic XX. All four teams will be participating in postseason bowl games.

Bartee, who graduated cum laude from Texas Tech in August, currently is working on his master's degree in business administration. A two-time member of the all-Big 12 Conference academic team, Bartee was also on the Big 12 commissioner's honor roll and the school's dean's list and president's list every semester.

Crowther is a three-year letter-winner who graduated from Notre Dame in May and also is working on his master's degree in business administration. Crowther was on the school's dean's list in seven of eight semesters. He received the 2001 Knute Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award in 2000 and the State Farm/ Westwood One Student-Athlete of the Year Award.

Ohio State's Groom led the Big Ten Conference in 2002 and was third nationally in punting average with 44.6 yards per kick. He was named first-team all-Big Ten and was the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week three times. He will graduate in April with a degree in marketing.

Wike is a four-year starter who graduated from Maryland in May with a degree in philosophy. He currently is pursing a second degree in criminology and criminal justice. He was named first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2001 and was academic all-ACC in 1999 and 2001. Wike received the George Boutselis Memorial Award in 2001 as the Maryland letter-winner with the highest grade-point average. Wike is a candidate for the 2002 Outland and Lombardi Awards.

The NACDA Foundation, founded in 1982, sponsors internship opportunities for aspiring athletics administrators at NACDA's national office. It also provides educational opportunities for NACDA members through a variety of workshops, clinics and seminars. The Foundation has awarded more than $10 million in scholarships since its inception.

Funding for the Foundation comes from the Kickoff and Pigskin Classics, whose proceeds also help fund the National Football Foundation and the American Football Coaches Association. Those two games generated more than $400,000 in scholarships this year.