Tulane's Ramsey Named National College Scholar-Athlete
Nov 1, 2001 | Football
Nov. 1, 2001
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane senior quarterback Patrick Ramsey received one of the country's most prestigious academic awards Thursday as he was named one of 16 National College Scholar-Athletes by The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
The award, based on superior academic performance, outstanding football ability, strong leadership and citizenship, carries an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. In addition, Ramsey and his fellow recipients will be honored at the Foundation's 44th Annual Awards Dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City on Dec. 11, 2001 along with the 2001 College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
Ramsey, a native of Ruston, La., is the first Tulane student to earn the award, which have been given since 1959. He is one of eight Division I-A recipients for 2001. Eight more scholarships go to student-athletes from Divisions I-AA, II, III and NAIA. Ramsey and his fellow recipients were selected from a list of 172 candidates.
"To me, it's the highest honor bestowed upon a college athlete because it recognizes the true scholar athletes'," said Tulane Head Coach Chris Scelfo. "There is no one more deserving of this award than Patrick Ramsey. It's a great reflection on Patrick and on Tulane University."
Tulane Director of Athletics Rick Dickson echoed Scelfo's sentiments.
"We are extremely proud for Patrick," Dickson said. "He exemplifies the meaning of the term student-athlete. He sets the bar at a height that all student-athletes should aspire to reach. I have never met a more deserving young man than Pat. He is a great representative of Tulane University."
Ramsey, who holds 27 Tulane records for passing and total offense, leads the nation as he has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 29 straight games in which he has played. This season, he became the school's all-time leader in passing yardage, completions and attempts. He needs three touchdown passes to break the career record in that category as well. As a senior, he has thrown for 2,151 yards, 18 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He leads Conference USA in passing and total offense
Off the field, Ramsey will graduate in December 2001 with a double major in accounting and finance from Tulane's A.B. Freeman School of Business. He has been named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll in each of the last three seasons and has also qualified for the Dean's List. His teammates have elected him a team captain each of the last two seasons.
"It's probably one of the greatest honors of my life," Ramsey said of the award. "It's a huge honor to be among this group of scholar athletes. It's really overwhelming. It makes me feel good about working as hard as I have the last four years, and very happy that I'm in a place that has provided me the opportunities that Tulane University has."
Ramsey joins Division I-A recipients Andre Davis (Virginia Tech), Vernon Fox (Fresno State), Joaquin Gonzalez (Miami), Christopher Hope (Florida State), Jeff Kelly (Southern Miss), Tracey Wistrom (Nebraska) and Kyle Young (Clemson) in the 2001 class of College Football Scholar-Athletes. All nominees for the award must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, have shown superior academic application and performance, have outstanding football ability as a first team player, and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
"With 172 outstanding candidates competing for this year's awards, the selection of the scholar-athletes was a difficult challenge for the Awards Committee. The committee chose what it feels is a sensational group that represents the ideals of the Foundation with great distinction," stated Robert E. Mulcahy III, chairman of the Awards Committee and director of athletics at Rutgers University.
According to National Football Foundation Chairman Jon F. Hanson, "For 43 years, these prestigious awards have placed the spotlight on only a chosen few who have excelled above all in the area of scholarship, citizenship and athletic performance. We are delighted to have this opportunity to honor these outstanding young men for all of their achievements."
At the Awards Dinner on December 11, one scholar-athlete will receive the Vincent dePaul Draddy Trophy. Often termed the "Academic Heisman," this award provides the winner with a $25,000 scholarship toward their postgraduate studies. Since 1990, 11 scholar-athletes have been fortunate to walk away from the Awards Dinner with this much-acclaimed trophy. Past winners include Peyton Manning from the University of Tennessee and Danny Wuerffel from the University of Florida.
