Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Awards

The CCS Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Program will honor at least five (5) Central Coast Section students, as follows:
1.    One (1) female student-athlete will be awarded a $1,500 scholarship; and
2.    One (1) male student-athlete will be awarded a $1,500 scholarship; and
3.    At least three (3) to four (4) additional student-athletes will each be awarded a $500 scholarship.
        Thanks to the generosity of John & Barbara Spalding and their family, we have been able to add
        one (1) additional $500 scholarship! The "Joyce Ridgway Memorial Scholarship Award" has been
        added to the CCS Scholar-Athlete Scholarship Award program to honor an additional female
        Scholar-Athlete for 2008.

The CCS SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD Selection Committee (made up of educational professionals from throughout the Section) is seeking applicants whose academic, athletic and school & community service careers have been truly exemplary. Applicants must possess the following:
- personal standards and accomplishments which are positive models for others;
- high levels of integrity, honesty and athletic citizenship; and,
- in the subjective determination of the Selection Committee, have benefited from their participation in high school
interscholastic athletic programs.

A.     Minimum Qualifications
        To qualify for the CCS SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD, the applicant must meet or exceed all of the
        following minimum qualifications:

1.	Be a graduating senior;
2.	Possess no less than a 3.5 grade-point-average (over 7 semesters, un-weighted);
3.	Score at least 1,500 on the *(new) SAT* or 21 on the ACT;
4.	Have competed at the VARSITY level for a CCS school for at least two (2) years;
5.	Be able to verify an exemplary record of positive athletic and non-athletic citizenship.

B.    Evaluation Criteria and Process
        1.    The Selection Committee will evaluate the applications utilizing the following criteria:
                * Scholastic Achievement - 30%;        * School / Community Service - 20%;
                * Athletic Achievement - 30%;            * Student Essay - 20%.
        2.    The Selection Committee will then determine the number of applicants invited to appear before the
                Committee for a Finalist's Interview.

B.    Evaluation Criteria and Process (continued)
        3.    The Selection Committee will then select at least five (5) CCS SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD winners,
                utilizing, at its discretion, the results from the interviews and the criteria from B.-1. above, as
                supported by all materials submitted.
        4.    The winners and their respective school administrators will be notified by the CCS Office Staff, and a
                press release will be prepared and distributed.

C.    Presentation of Awards
        All winners, along with their families, school Administrators and Athletic Directors, will be the guests
        of the Central Coast Section at an awards presentation, scheduled during the April 24, 2008 CCS
        Board of Managers meeting. Each winner will receive an inscribed award. His/her respective monetary
        scholarship award will be forwarded to his/her high school, which will handle the appropriate
        disbursement of scholarship funds to and for the student.

D.     Application Process
        1.    Each member-school may submit any number of scholarship applications to:
                        CCS Office, 6830 Via Del Oro, Suite 103, San Jose, CA 95119
        2.    The deadline for submitting completed applications is 3:30PM, FRIDAY, MARCH 07, 2008.
                Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
        3.    In order to be considered complete, the application must include the following material:

a.	A completed Student Application Form - Part A (Administrator's signature required);
b.	A completed Student Application Form - Part B (Athletic Director's signature required);
c.	At least two (2) letters of recommendation -- one (1) each from the student's school Administrator and Athletic Director -- plus any other recommendation letters, at the student's discretion;
d.	A copy of the student's seven(7)-semester transcript of grades, showing his/her cumulative and un-weighted grade-point-average and schedule of classes taken, with respective grades earned;
e.	An official verification of the student's SAT/ACT score(s) -- This can only be accomplished in the following manner: A copy of the official notification of scores, sent by the testing center to the student or school, must accompany the application (scores that are typed or handwritten on the transcript will not be accepted);
f.	A TYPED essay (1-page, & in the student's own words) addressing the following topic:
Student athletes are under increasing pressure to be the best, both in their sport and academically, for only the best are actively recruited by the most well-known colleges or offered lucrative scholarships. Recently the sports world has been rocked by confessions and convictions of our most respected athletes found guilty of using enhancement drugs to ensure their place at the top of their professions. Personal and professional ethics seem lost in competition to be the best. How can student athletes balance their personal ethics against the increasing pressure to succeed both on and off the field?

*January, 2008	Application materials distributed to member-schools
March 07, 2008(3:30PM)	Completed application packets must be physically received in CCS Office
*end of March	Applications evaluated; finalists selected; interviews scheduled
*beginning of April	Finalists interviewed; winners selected and notified
April 24, 2008	Awards presented at CCS Board of Managers Meeting


CENTRAL COAST SECTION - CIF SCHOLAR-ATHLETE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS PROGRAM