The NCAA News - News and Features

August 4, 1997

NCAA awards 12 ethnic-minority postgraduate scholarships

The NCAA has awarded 12 postgraduate scholarships through the ethnic-minority enhancement program.

This is the 10th year of the program, which was established in 1987 as a result of a recommendation of the NCAA Council Subcommittee to Review Minority Opportunities in Intercollegiate Athletics. The program is aimed at creating better opportunities for ethnic minorities in coaching, athletics administration and officiating.

This year's postgraduate scholarships, awarded by the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee, are being presented to ethnic-minority applicants who have completed an undergraduate degree and have been accepted into a sports administration program or a related program that will assist the applicants in obtaining a career in athletics.

Recipients must express an interest in preparing for a professional career in administration of athletics. The scholarships are for one year and are valued at $6,000.

In addition to selecting this year's scholarship recipients, the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee has named Richard Emmett Brown of Montana State University-Bozeman; Jennifer Kay Rhodes of the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Donald D. Washington of Salisbury State University as alternates.

The accompanying biographical sketches of 1997 scholarship recipients include the institution awarding the recipient's undergraduate degree and, if different, the institution where the postgraduate scholarship likely will be used.

Edgard Cazal (Central Michigan University) -- Cazal currently is a member of Central Michigan's graduate sports administration program. As an undergraduate, Cazal was a student manager for the Central Michigan football and men's basketball squads and handled game operations for those sports and for gymnastics and intramurals. Upon completion of his degree, Cazal hopes to work in player personnel or game operations with the National Football League or another professional sports organization.

Brian Adam Favors (University of California, Davis; California State University, Sacramento) -- Favors played football at UC Davis in 1995 and 1996 and has served for the last two years as the liaison between student-athletes and the campus administration. In 1996, Favors cofounded Athletes Gearing for Success, a student organization that focuses on African-American experiences in athletics. He also helped coordinate a mentoring program involving African-American student-athletes, administrators and faculty members. Favors intends to pursue a degree in sports management.

Dawn Aries Kelly (University of Wisconsin, Madison; undecided) -- Kelly made her way into the athletics scene at Wisconsin as a walk-on who then earned a full scholarship in volleyball and cracked the starting lineup as a senior. As an English major who minored in French, Kelly intends to use her postgraduate degree in sports administration to assist the growing legions of international student-athletes in communication skills. She plans to begin postgraduate work at Ohio State University or Ohio University this fall.

Dong Hwan Koo (University of Southern California) -- Koo is nearing completion of a master's degree in marriage, family and child counseling at Southern California. As an undergraduate, Koo was a football scholarship recipient at the school and also participated in wrestling and track and field. He has devoted much of his work toward a master's degree to studying substance abuse in student-athletes, and he plans to pursue a Ph.D. in counseling psychology in order to become a sports psychologist.

Monica Arlene May (University of Texas at Arlington) -- May is a 1996 graduate from Texas-Arlington who earned her teaching certificate in health and physical education. She recently completed a year teaching high-school physical education and was the head track and field coach for seventh, eighth and ninth graders. May was a heptathlete at Texas-Arlington and earned four varsity letters in track and field. She intends to begin work on a master's degree in education this fall.

Chanita Moore (University of California, Berkeley; Ohio State University) -- Moore graduated last spring with a degree in political science. She spent the 1995-96 academic year as a volunteer intern with California's athletics department and became interested in a career in athletics administration. She plans to begin postgraduate work in that area this fall. After obtaining her postgraduate degree, Moore hopes to work in compliance at the conference level and then attend law school.

Angelia Denise Nelson (Elizabeth City State University; Florida State University) -- Nelson already holds a master's degree in education from Florida A&M University and a doctorate in sports administration from Florida State. A 1985 physical science graduate from Elizabeth City State, Nelson went on to teach physical education at a Florida high school before spending three years at Tuskegee University as the women's basketball coach and senior woman administrator. She hopes to obtain an upper-level athletics administration position by using the scholarship to defray college expenses and fund her dissertation.

Javier Alexander Ortiz (San Jose State University) -- Ortiz earned a football scholarship as a walk-on and received the Arthur Ashe Jr. National Scholar-Athlete Award in 1996. President of the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Board, Ortiz also received the A. S. 55 Award honoring the top 55 leaders at San Jose State. Ortiz has interned at the ABC-TV affiliate in San Jose, writing scripts and stories for the employee newsletter. He plans to begin postgraduate work at San Jose State this fall in sports and entertainment management.

Kary Lea Tomaw (Central Michigan University) -- A two-time Mid-American Conference winner in the heptathlon, Tomaw holds school records in five events. She captained the track team in her junior and senior years and was a four-time all-MAC choice. She received the school's Bill Boyden Leadership Award for community service and was a member of the dean's list all four years. Tomaw plans to pursue a master's degree in speech-language pathology at Central Michigan beginning this summer.

Joi Marie Turner (San Jose State University) -- Turner will begin postgraduate work in speech pathology this fall at San Jose State. As an undergraduate, Turner was a member of the Spartans' women's basketball team and was twice voted the team's best defensive player. She also was a six-time San Jose State scholar-athlete and earned academic recognition from the Big West Conference. Turner also was a 1995 National Student-Athlete Day honoree.

Carole Ann Walker (Shaw University; North Carolina State University) -- Walker was a 1996 scholarship recipient, but deferred her award to this year. She was a three-sport participant at Shaw, earning letters in volleyball, basketball and softball. She has served the past three years as a correctional officer at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women and will begin postgraduate work this fall at North Carolina State, where she intends to pursue a degree in counseling education with a concentration in athletics academic counseling and advising.

Tiffany La'Sha Walker (University of Georgia; undecided) -- Walker was a four-year letterwinner on the Georgia women's basketball squad that won the Southeastern Conference title in 1996 and advanced to the 1995 and 1996 Women's Final Fours. An all-SEC academic choice, Walker also received a National Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholastic Achievement Award. She hopes to begin postgraduate work in sports administration this fall.