Awards Programs

Texas State Athletic Academic Center hosts several events and awards student-athletes who have achieved on the field and in the classroom. Below is a list of awards and ceremonies hosted by the AAC, the Southland Conference and the Bobcat Athletic Foundation.

Oak Farms Diary Academic Achievement Award
Any student-athlete who earns a 3.0 semester GPA in either the fall or the spring semester is recognized at a spring reception for their academic achievements. Student-athletes who earn a perfect 4.0 are awarded the "Cream of the Crop," a framed certificate to signify this outstanding accomplishment.

Emmett Shelton Team Academic Award
This award is given to the male and female athletic program that earned the highest grade point average in the Spring and Fall semesters. Each program is given a plaque in honor of this achievement.

Jean Smith Outstanding Female Student-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship
Dr. Jean Smith came to Southwest Texas State Teachers College in 1953 and was chairman of the Women’s Physical Education Department until 1970. She continued teaching as a professor in the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department until her retirement in 1984.

Dr. Smith is a true pioneer of women’s athletics in the State of Texas. During her tenure she helped establish the first state athletic organization for women, the Texas Commission of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, which governed all women’s athletics in the state until 1982.

Twenty-five years ago she decided to continue helping women’s athletics by establishing this $1,000 post-graduate award that is given annually to an outstanding female student-athlete who seeks to continue her education after graduating.

Bill Miller Outstanding Male Student-Athlete Post Graduate Scholarship
Bill Miller served as head football coach of the Texas State Bobcats from 1964 through 1978. During that time, he compiled a record of 94-53-3. His 94 wins are more than any other football coach in school history. In 1975, Miller was named director of athletics, and he served in that capacity until his retirement in February 1992.

Under his leadership, 31 Bobcat teams claimed conference titles. The Bobcats won back-to-back Division II national championships in football in 1981 and 1982, a national golf championship and had two national runner-up finishes in tennis. In 1986, the volleyball team became the first Bobcat team to qualify for post-season play in Division I of the NCAA. In 1990, two Bobcat track stars--Charles Austin in the high jump and Drew Fucci in the decathlon--became the university's first NCAA Division I national champions.

Miller is enshrined in the Texas State Athletic Hall of Honor, was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the university's Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and is a member of the Southland Conference Hall of Honor. In 2005, he received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Texas State Alumni Association. He was presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Daniel Baker College in 2003. Miller attended Daniel Baker before coming to Texas State.

In honor of Bill Miller a $1,000 post-graduate award will be given annually to an outstanding male student-athlete who seeks to continue her education after graduating.

Bobcat Athletic Foundation Academic Ring Ceremony
The “Bobcat Athletic Foundation Academic Ring” symbolizes excellence on the playing field, as well as in the classroom. The Texas State Department of Athletics initiated the Ring Ceremony program in May of 1986. Since the inception of the program, more than 700 student-athletes have received the Bobcat Athletic Foundation Ring. The criteria for receiving this symbol of academic and athletic achievement are the following:

1) Student-athlete must have received the “T” Letter from the Texas State Department of Athletics.
2) Student-athlete must have completed NCAA eligibility with Texas State and be in good standing with their team.
3) Student-athlete must have earned an undergraduate degree from Texas State within six years of initial full-time enrollment.

This ring is dedicated to the student-athletes who have contributed their efforts on the field of play and balanced those efforts with a commitment to achieving excellence in the classroom.

CapitalOne Bank/Southland Conference All-Academic Teams
The Southland Conference announces all-academic teams in all 16 championship sports to recognize those student-athletes who excel in the classroom and on the field and court. The teams are released within 30 days following the completion of each sport's championships or the final weekend of the regular season for football.

Nominated by each institution's athletic media relations director and selected by a voting contingent made up of sports information directors, head coaches and academic or compliance administrators, all-academic team members must have posted at least a cumulative 3.00 GPA, completed at least one full academic year at the member institution prior to the season in which the nomination occurs, and competed in a minimum of 50 percent of the sport's contests during the most recently completed season.

Student-athletes receiving CoSIDA district or national academic honors are automatically named to the SLC all-academic first team.

All-academic teams are announced in conjunction with the Conference's Student-Athlete of the Year. One team shall be selected for cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field within 30 days following the outdoor championship.

CapitalOne Bank/Southland Conference Scholar-Athlete
Beginning with the 1996-97 season, the Conference annually recognizes the outstanding male and female student-athletes from each of the league's member institutions. Student-athletes must be a letterwinner with a minimum 3.20 cumulative grade point average and have completed at least two years of intercollegiate competition at the school from which he/she was nominated.

The student-athletes are selected by their respective institution administrators and receive recognition at the Honors Ceremony, which takes place during the league's Spring Meeting.

CapitalOne Bank/Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll
Now called the Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll, the Southland Conference acknowledges all participants in all sports sponsored by the league and its member institutions. The honor roll is released within 30 days at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters, recognizing student-athletes who maintained a 3.00 or better grade point average.

Student-athletes, nominated by their respective academic advisors, must have been eligible to compete in a Conference sport during the academic year in which the nomination occurs.

The honor roll was first dubbed SLC All-Academic and then the SLC Honor Roll. It changed for a third time to the Commissioner's List, beginning with the 1996-97 season, before acquiring its current title in the 2003-04 season.