RICHARDSON, TX – Celebrated annually on April 6 since 1987, National STUDENT-Athlete Day is America's day to celebrate outstanding student-athletes who have achieved excellence in academics and athletics while having made significant contributions to the community. It is also a time to recognize those parents, teachers, coaches and school systems which make it possible for young people to find the balance between academics and athletics. By participating, programs are created, students are rewarded and everyone comes together to recognize the importance of student-athletes as role models for the entire community.

All of the American Southwest Conference's 15 member institutions are celebrating National STUDENT-Athlete Day. Some activities planned on ASC campuses for Monday include Texas Lutheran University's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee hosting a pool party and Howard Payne University recognizing 102 of its student-athletes for their success in the classroom, on the field and in their everyday life.

“What a wonderful opportunity it is to recognize almost one third of our student athletes that have not only achieved success in athletics but also in academics,” HPU Director of Athletics Mike Jones said. “Howard Payne University Athletics places strong emphasis on degree completion and the overall quality of the educational experience. Congratulations to these that have achieved such a high standard in both athletics and academics.”

Since last year's National STUDENT-Athlete Day, the ASC as a whole has celebrated 804 all-academic honorees, 159 distinguished scholar-athletes winners, four academic all-Americans, an NCAA Division III men's track and field national championship, a third-place finish in the Softball Word Series, a football national semifinalist and an Elite 8 appearance in the men's basketball tournament. The conference's SAAC recently joined together to raise a record $8,761.14 for local community organizations in their “Make a Change in 14 Days” campaign. In the three years of the project, nearly $20,000 has been raised.

National STUDENT-Athlete Day is a program of the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS) and is co-presented with The NCAA, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society.

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