Dec. 22, 2010
OVERLAND PARK, KS (December 22, 2010) - Record-setting Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs has been selected as the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The announcement and trophy presentation were made today by Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA®, during Navy's alumni and fan gathering at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. The Midshipmen will play San Diego State December 23 in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I football head coaches, national media and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
"It was a blessing to just be nominated for the award, and to actually win it is beyond belief. I would like to thank all the Midshipmen, Naval Academy staff, alumni and fans that took the time to vote for me and the selection committee for picking me," Dobbs said. "This award would not have been possible if not for God, my family and my teammates and coaches at the Naval Academy."
Dobbs will graduate from the Naval Academy this spring with a degree in general science. He is active in his church, speaks to local youth groups and works at football camps in both Annapolis and his hometown of Douglasville, Georgia.
"We are ecstatic that Ricky Dobbs has won one of the most prestigious awards in all of college football," Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award recognizes everything that is good about college athletics and Ricky embodies everything the award stands for: community, classroom, character and competition."
As a senior, Dobbs amassed more than 2,000 total yards of offense, scoring 13 rushing touchdowns and passing for 12 more as he led Navy to a 9-3 record. As a junior, Dobbs set an NCAA record for rushing touchdowns scored by a quarterback in a single season with 27. He was named an honorable mention all-American for his efforts.
"The service academies always embrace candidates for this award and actively encourage fan voting and support, so it's gratifying to see Navy's Ricky Dobbs win the football award this year," said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. "But what is even more special is that Ricky is a person of such high character that he has earned the respect of everyone he has come in contact with throughout his fabulous career."
For more information on all the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
All-America First Team
Jake Coffman, Defensive End, Northern Illinois
Ricky Dobbs, Quarterback, Navy
Christian Ponder, Quarterback, Florida State
Ryan Pugh, Center, Auburn
Stefen Wisniewski, Offensive Guard, Penn State
2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
All-America Second Team
Sam Acho, Defensive End, Texas
Sean Bedford, Center, Georgia Tech
Anthony Castonzo, Offensive Tackle, Boston College
Ras-I Dowling, Cornerback, Virginia
Kendall Hunter, Running Back, Oklahoma State
CONTACTS
Laurie Bollig
Premier Sports Management, Phone: 913/563-5417
lbollig@seniorCLASSaward.com
Gerard Littlejohn
Lowe's Public Relations, Phone: 704/758-4337
gerard.g.littlejohn@lowes.com
ABOUT THE AWARD
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. Sportscaster Dick Enberg, honorary chair of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, first conceived the idea of an award for seniors in 2001 in response to the growing trend of men's basketball players leaving school early for the NBA. The award program has expanded from men's and women's basketball to include 10 NCAA Division I sports. The award is sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management.
ABOUT LOWE'S
With fiscal year 2009 sales of $47.2 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, NC, Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world.
Lowe's is an Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA.
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit NCAA.org and NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
