Nov. 7, 2006

Cleveland, Ohio - The five winners for the seventh annual John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards were announced today by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).

The winners are:
Student,  Institution, Undergraduate Major, GPA
Michelle Henke, California Polytechnic State San Luis Obispo, Business Administration, 3.51
Tiffany Mah, University of Notre Dame, Marketing & Sociology, 3.60
Clint Manning, Limestone College, Sport Mgt. & Accounting, 3.95
Kimberly Nguyen, University of Washington, Communications, 3.30
Marcus Sedberry, University of Nebraska, Marketing, 3.23

The winners will each receive a $10,000 grant to be used towards postgraduate studies in athletics administration. Funding for the scholarship program has been provided in part by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); the Cleveland Cavaliers; Major League Baseball (MLB); the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC); the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA); and Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Minorities (as defined by federal guidelines) who intend to pursue a postgraduate degree in athletics administration are eligible for these scholarships. Students were required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and have demonstrated leadership qualities on an institutional or community level.

John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients

Michelle Henke, California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Division I
Michelle Henke graduated from Polytechnic State University with a 3.51 grade-point average in business administration and a minor in philosophy. Henke was named to the dean's list seven times. During the summer of 2005, Henke interned with the New Mexico Activities Association and, in the summer of 2004, was one of 28 interns at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. While interning at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, a pair of Henke's articles were published via the magazine and Web site. While at Cal Poly, Henke was team captain, since her sophomore year, on the women's basketball team and was also president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She was also a two-time recipient of the Big West Conference all-academic team. Henke is a native of Albuquerque (NM).

Tiffany Mah, University of Notre Dame, Division I
Tiffany Mah graduated Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in marketing and sociology. Mah earned a 3.6 GPA and was named to the Dean's List six times. Currently, Mah is pursuing a master's degree in business administration from Arizona State's W.P. Carey School of Business on a combined McLendon/Haynes Scholarship through the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) McLendon Foundation and Arizona State. Mah was also a recipient of an NCAA Ethnic Minority Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics Award. Prior to her appointment at Arizona State, Mah was an association liaison at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. While at Notre Dame, Mah worked in the athletics department in marketing and promotions and was an advertising assistant at the Center for Social Concerns. Mah was also a volunteer for the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, the Black College All-Star Game & Celebrity Extravaganza, the USA vs. Ireland vs. Italy International Boxing Triad, the Special Olympics and the Lakewood Animal Shelter. Mah is originally from Buffalo Grove (IL).

Clint Manning, Limestone College (SC), Division II
Clint Manning, a graduate of Limestone College, has been accepted to the University of Miami's graduate program. Manning graduated with a 3.96 GPA in sport management and accounting. Manning was on both the dean's and president's lists while at Limestone. He was also named to the NCAA Division II Commissioners honor roll and earned a spot on the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference (CVAC) Academic All-Conference squad. Manning was a two-year captain of the men's tennis squad and earned Limestone's Student-Athlete of the Year award as a senior. He has volunteered at Michael Irvine's Playmaker Charity Celebrity Golf Tournament to help raise money for underprivileged children and also helped organize and locate donors for ARC blood drives. Manning is currently employed at the Swim Gym, Inc., as an assistant office manager. Manning is from Christ Church, Barbados.

Kimberly Nguyen, University of Washington, Division I
Kimberly Nguyen graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in communications and a minor in American ethnic studies and a 3.3 GPA. After graduation, Nguyen worked as the marketing and championships assistant at the West Coast Conference. While at Washington, Nguyen was the marketing/promotions intern from August 2004-June 2005. She was responsible for promoting the Huskies 21 athletics teams, including game-day promotions; the planning and execution of any marketing and promotional events, both on and off campus; Junior Husky Club membership sign-ups; and the creation/distribution of promotional flyers. She was also a gymnastics program director/instructor at the Loyal Heights Community Center. Nguyen volunteered her time at the various NCAA basketball championships and at the 2006 Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco (CA). Nguyen resided in Walnut Creek (CA) prior to moving to San Francisco.

Marcus Sedberry, University of Nebraska, Division I
A 2006 graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln, Marcus Sedberry earned his bachelor's degree in marketing, while maintaining a 3.23 GPA. Sedberry was named Big 12 Academic All-Conference, was named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll seven times and was named to the dean's list twice. He was a three-time Big 12 track and field champion. Sedberry was involved on the Nebraska campus as a member of various organizations - Your Degree First-Student-Athlete Organization, president (2004-06) and vice president (2004-05); Afrikan People's Union, president (2005-06) and first vice president (2004-05); Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, president (2005-06), vice president and treasurer (2004-05); Big 12 Council on Black Student Government, university delegate (2003-06); and Husker Choices. Sedberry is originally from Bryan (TX).

The above mentioned winners names were forwarded to the John McLendon Memorial Minority Blue Ribbon Committee for their award selection by the John McLendon Awards Committee. The Awards Committee consists of 18 individuals, including 14 athletics directors, a trio of conference representatives and an NCAA representative. The ADs are Kevin Anderson, United States Military Academy; Sharon Beverly, Vassar College; Rudy Carvajal, California State University Bakersfield; Deborah Chin, University of New Haven; Rudy Davalos, AD Emeritus at the University of New Mexico; Earl Edwards, University of California San Diego; Herman Frazier, University of Hawaii; Michael Garrett, University of Southern California; Dan Guerrero, University of California Los Angeles; Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia; Warde Manuel, University at Buffalo; Bernard Muir, Georgetown University; Eugene Smith, Ohio State University; and DeLores Todd, North Carolina A&T State University. The conference representatives include Dell Robinson, Associate Commissioner Legislative & Compliance Services, Mid-American Conference; Dennis Thomas, commissioner, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference; and Alfred White, associate commissioner, Conference USA. The representative from the NCAA is Anne Little, director of First Team Mentoring.

The John McLendon Memorial Minority Blue Ribbon Committee responsible for selecting the five individual for the McLendon Scholarship include Wayne Embry, senior basketball advisor to the president, Toronto Raptors; Greg Gumbel, CBS Sports; Curt Hamakawa, assistant professor of sport management, Western New England College; Mike Haynes, vice president of player and employee development, National Football League; Jim Kahler, executive director, Center for Sports Administration, Ohio University; Omar Minaya, general manager/executive vice president, baseball operations, New York Mets; Ron Stratten, vice president for education services, NCAA; Isiah Thomas, president, basketball operations and head coach, New York Knicks; Keith Tribble, athletics director, University of Central Florida; Claire Van Ummerson, vice president and director, Office of Women in Higher Education, American Council on Education; and Gene Washington, director of football development, NFL.

About the John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Program: The John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Awards are presented to senior-level minority students who intend to pursue a graduate degree in athletics administration. If you have any questions regarding this program, please feel free to call or e-mail Brian Horning in the NACDA office, 440/892-4000.

About NACDA: NACDA, now in its 42nd year, is the professional and educational association for more than 6,100 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 2,000 athletics administrators annually attend the NACDA Convention. Additionally, NACDA administers 10 professional associations for the separate business units that report directly to the athletics director.