The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Produces Five 1A FAR Award Recipients
1/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | General
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five former UAB student-athletes have been honored with 1A FAR Academic Excellence Awards, as announced by the NCAA. The award recognizes student-athlete academic achievement among graduating seniors. The Blazers recognized for their academic achievement include Ian Michalak, Rachel Daniell, Paul Dunne, Margaret Yeh and Tyler Mims.
Recipients of the award must have graduated in the past academic year with at least a 3.80 cumulative grade point average and have participated in at least two years of intercollegiate athletics at a Football Bowl Subdivision institution in a sport sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision conference.
Michalak, a former member of the men's soccer team, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in neuroscience. The Collierville, Tenn., native was a member of the UAB backline and saw action in 13 games his senior season, helping the Blazers to their third NCAA Championship in four years. In the classroom, Michalak was just the second player in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, and he garnering the award twice, during his junior and senior campaigns. He earned C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll accolades every year while playing at UAB, and also earned the league's Academic Medal each year while representing the Green and Gold.
Daniell, a former women's tennis player, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in biology. The Douglasville, Ga., native boasted an impressive 3.93 GPA in Biology (pre-medicine focus) during her time at UAB. She was tied for second on the team this past season with seven victories in singles during dual match play in 2015. Daniell also had nine doubles triumphs on the year, which was the highest total on the team.
During her career at UAB, Daniell earned the C-USA Commissioner's All-Academic Medal and earned a spot on the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll during each of her four seasons. She was also a recipient of the C-USA Spring 2014 Spirit of Service Award and placed on the league's All-Academic Team in each of her seasons. Adding to her accolades, Daniell earned the Intercollegiate Tennis Association/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award for the ITA Southern Region. The award recognizes a deserving individual who have exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.
Dunne, who played for the men's golf team, graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in finance. Dunne made his mark early in the professional ranks due to his performance in the 2015 Open Championship where he became the first amateur since Bobby Jones in 1927 to lead The Open after 54 holes.
During his time at UAB, he was Conference USA's Golfer of the Year during his junior campaign. Dunne also earned back-to-back All-Conference USA First Team selections his junior and senior years. In the classroom, Dunne owned a 3.82 cumulative GPA. He is a four-time member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and received the C-USA Academic Medal three times. In 2015, Dunne became just the second UAB men's golfer to be named a Capital One Academic All-American.
Yeh, who majored in industrial distribution, graduated Summa Cum Launde and was a member of the women's golf team. The Cumming, Ga., native was named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll all four years with the Blazers and earned the league's academic medal. During her career, Yeh competed in 31 tournaments for UAB, finishing a career-best ninth place at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate her sophomore year.
Mims, who played catcher, first base and in the outfield for the Blazers, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in industrial distribution. He was named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll all five years in Birmingham, and also earned the league's academic medal each year with the Green and Gold. He is a recent graduate of UAB with a degree in industrial distribution and ended his five years with a 3.93 GPA, having made only one B in his academic career. Mims saw action in 56 games his senior year, earning 52 starts.
The faculty athletics representative is a designation created and mandated by the NCAA. FARs must be members of an institution's faculty and may not hold an administrative or coaching position in the athletics department. Duties vary by institution, but typically a FAR serves as a liaison to the athletics department. The 1A FAR is an advocate for the appropriate balance and effective interaction between an institution's academic mission and its intercollegiate athletics program.
All FARs who serve at NCAA Division IA institutions are members of 1A FAR.
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