The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has selected recipients for two sets of college athletics awards -- the Sears Directors' Cup Postgraduate Scholarship Awards and the John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards.

The Sears Directors' Cup Postgraduate Scholarship Awards, presented by NACDA and Sears, Roebuck and Co., include 12 winners from NCAA Divisions I, II and III and four from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The winners, chosen from 207 nominees from the NCAA Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA, each will receive a $5,000 grant to be used toward postgraduate studies. Four additional $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to a student at the institutions that win the Sears Directors' Cup, the national all-sports competition, which will bring the total number to 20 scholarships worth $100,000, funded by Sears.

The five winners for the inaugural John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards will receive a $10,000 grant to be used toward postgraduate studies in athletics administration. Funding for the scholarship program has been provided by adidas America, the American Football Coaches Association, the Eddie Robinson Football Classic, Host Communications, Sears and NACDA.

The winners will receive their awards at NACDA's 35th annual convention June 11-14. The ceremony will occur at the NACDA Scholarship Awards Luncheon, presented by Sears, on Tuesday, June 13.

Sears Directors' Cup postgraduate scholarships are earmarked for students who have served in an athletics support capacity at four-year institutions. This includes students from the categories of academic support, band members, equipment room managers, facility managers, sports information assistants, student coaches and athletic trainers. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.000 or higher (4.000 scale), demonstrate involvement on the collegiate or community level and maintain full-time status as a senior.

The 12 NCAA winners are Jacqueline Batchelor, Fayetteville State University, sports information assistant; Adam Blomberg, University of Miami (Florida), team manager; Whitney Cassens, Western Illinois University, athletic trainer; Scotty Christofferson, Simpson College, sports information assistant; Stacy Duffell, University of the Incarnate Word, assistant coach; Robert LeBlanc Jr., Louisiana State University, academic support; David Litman, University of Indianapolis, sports information assistant; Benjamin Mossawir, Stanford University, team manager; Andrea Nangle, Widener University, athletic trainer; Rajesh Nayak, University of Chicago, band member; Kathryn Simpson, Williams College, athletic trainer; and Ryan Stanzel, Wingate University, sports information assistant.

The John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards are given to ethnic minorities who intend to pursue a postgraduate degree in athletics administration. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.000 (4.000 scale), have senior status and have demonstrated leadership qualities on an institutional or community level.

The five winners are Nigel Burton, University of Washington; Simon Chocron, Florida State University; Jamila Demby, University of California, Davis; Carey Dorn, University of Connecticut; and Kyle Johnson, Ithaca College.

Burton is a former chair of the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a former NCAA intern. Demby is the 1999 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Members of the John McLendon Memorial Minority Blue Ribbon Committee were responsible for selecting the finalists. Members of that group include Daniel Boggan Jr., NCAA senior vice-president; Grant Teaff, executive director, American Football Coaches Association; Claire Van Ummerson, president, Cleveland State University; and Charles Whitcomb, faculty athletics representative, San Jose State University.