DON KELLY STUDENT-ATHLETE LEADERSHIP AWARD

NAME OF THE AWARD Don Kelly Student-Athlete Leadership Award.

OVERVIEW The Don Kelly Student-Athlete Leadership Award is given annually to Point Park University junior or senior student-athletes – one male and one female – who display outstanding leadership and embody the values, sprit and tradition of being a model student-athlete during their time at the University. Deserving candidates are outstanding representatives of the school and the department in the classroom, in the community and in the sport they play. These qualities exhibit what it means to be a student-athlete.

CRITERIA Candidates must… --Be a junior or senior student-athlete at Point Park University. --Embody the values, spirit and tradition of a model student-athlete at Point Park University. --Display outstanding leadership within the team, department and school. --Be a strong academic performer in the classroom. Must have a cumulative GPA or 3.0 or higher. --Bring outstanding qualities to their team(s) both on and off the field of play. --Display outstanding sportsmanship in the way they play the game. --Be an active member of the community with community service performed. Special consideration given for (but not required)… --Athletic awards or accomplishments such as NAIA All-American or all-conference, Team MVP, school records set. --Academic awards or accomplishments such as NAIA Scholar-Athlete, CoSIDA Academic All-America ®, Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, Dean’s List. --Team accomplishments such as conference or national championships or playoff participation. --Team captains, starters or important reserves on the team, multiple letters won. --Involvement in Point Park’s Student-Athlete Council --Participation in clubs or organizations on campus --Overall involvement in campus

PRESENTATION The Don Kelly Student-Athlete Leadership Award is presented annually at the Point Park University Outstanding Student Awards. Awardees will be notified of their selection prior to the awards event. Awardees are required to attend the event to receive their award.

NOMINATION Candidates for the Don Kelly Student-Athlete Leadership Award may be nominated by Point Park coaches or athletic department personnel. Nominations are due by March 15 in the given year.

SELECTION Nominees will be reviewed by a panel made up of Point Park athletic department personnel including the athletic director, assistant athletic director, the department’s SAC advisor and a selected representative from student affairs.

ABOUT DON KELLY Don Kelly was an NAIA First-Team All-American for Point Park from 1999-01. A 2010 inductee in the Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame, Kelly is Point Park’s all-time leading hitter with a career batting average of .413, a team record. He went on to a career in , and the 2015 season will be his eighth in the major leagues. Kelly is widely regarded in MLB as an upstanding citizen both on and off the field. He displays the purest sense of integrity, competition, sportsmanship, desire, dedication and leadership at the highest level of play – professional sports. These qualities are exhibited as a multi-year winner of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Associations’ “Heart & Hustle Award” as one of 30 yearly honorees in the MLB, a recognition that is presented annually to an active player who “demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game”. Kelly’s community service includes: Participation in Tigers Dreams Come True, visiting and interacting with patients at Children's Hospital of Michigan and attending "Keeping Kids in the Game". Kelly was drafted in the eighth round of the 2001 draft by Detroit. He made his MLB debut with his hometown Pirates on the Opening Day roster in 2007. He was with the Tigers from 2009-14, and the signed with the for the 2015 season.