March 6, 2009
KANSAS CITY, MO. -
Thirty NCAA® lacrosse student-athletes, including University of North Carolina senior goalkeeper Grant Zimmerman of Cockeysville, Md., who strive to make a difference in
their classroom, their communities and on their field of competition were identified as the 2009
candidates for the lacrosse division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. 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: Classroom, Character, Community, 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 those leaders to use their
platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.
Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA®, expanded the award program beyond
men's and women's basketball in 2007 to include six additional NCAA® Division I sports - men's
and women's soccer, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, baseball, and softball. With the
addition of football (Bowl Subdivision) this year, the number of sports encompassed by the
nation's premier award for seniors has expanded to nine.
This marks the third year for the men's lacrosse division of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Syracuse University attack and team captain Mike Leveille took home the award in 2008 and
Cornell University goalkeeper Matt McMonagle was the inaugural winner in 2007.
The 2009 class of candidates exemplifies student-athletes who succeed at more than just their
sport. Twenty-seven NCAA colleges and universities are represented.
The list of 30 student-athletes will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular
season, and those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot. The ballots will be
distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the
candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the "Four C's" of Classroom, Character,
Community, and Competition.
The award winner will be announced and presented with his trophy at the 2009 NCAA® Men's
Lacrosse Championship in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
"Lacrosse continues to sweep the nation as one of the growing sports, and the list of quality
candidates for this award keeps getting stronger each year," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior
vice president of marketing and advertising. "It is Lowe's honor to spotlight the stories of
student-athletes in the sport who are doing so much more than competing on the field."
Sportscaster Dick Enberg, Honorary Chairman 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 was launched to honor senior
student-athletes who remained in college, exhausting their athletic eligibility, to pursue
their college degree.
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: classroom, community, 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 that a senior season can bring. For more information, visit www.seniorclassaward.com.
ABOUT LOWE'S
With fiscal year 2008 sales of $48.2 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 14
million customers a week at more than 1,650 home improvement stores in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1946 and
based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit
www.lowes.com.
ABOUT THE NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic
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 www.ncaa.org and
www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association.
