March 9, 2005
Football
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BAUMGARTNER NAMED RECIPIENT OF NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Senior defensive lineman Neil Baumgartner (Iron River, Mich./West Iron County HS) has been named a recipient of the 2004-05 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time grants of $7,500 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. Each sports season, there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.200 (based on a 4.000 scale) and intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a part-time or full-time graduate student. Baumgartner was one of three Division II male student-athletes to receive this distinction. Neil wants to pursue a Master's of Public Administration and be a graduate assistant in an athletic department. He is also a finalist for the GLIAC Postgraduate Scholarship and the Walter Beyers Scholarship, which goes to just one male and female student-athlete in the country.

Baumgartner maintains a 4.0 GPA in the classroom in Secondary Education and also excelled on the field in 2004. He was named First Team All-GLIAC Defense this season after recording 65 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. In addition, Neil racked up 4.5 sacks this season and finished his career at SVSU ranked second all-time with 21 sacks. Baumgartner tallied a season-high 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks at Ferris State on November 6. Neil played in 47 career games and started in 41 contests. His 258 career tackles ranks 14th all-time at SVSU and he was a part of a senior class in 2004 that recorded a four-year record of 39-9.

Neil is the only SVSU football player to earn First Team Academic All-America honors two years in a row as he earned the same honor as a junior. Last season, Baumgartner was named the recipient of the Jack McAvoy Award presented by the GLIAC and he also was named Great Lakes Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the conference commissioners. Baumgartner was a four-year letterman who won the Mo Clevering Award for the highest GPA on the squad for four straight years. Baumgartner began the 2004 season as a Preseason Second Team All-American as voted on by D2Football.com.

Contact: Ryan Thompson (989) 964-4053

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