Tim Tebow Claims Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Friday, January 1, 2010 | Football
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) was selected as the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner for the Football Bowl Subdivision. He joins former Gators Brandon McArthur (Baseball) and Stacey Nelson (Softball) as recipients of the award from UF.
The award, chosen by a nationwide vote of Division I coaches, national football media and fans, is awarded annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in the NCAA® Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The announcement was made on Friday by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, during the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
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 students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The award identifies personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, with criteria including excellence in the classroom, outstanding character and community service in addition to competition on the field.
"Knowing what the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award represents, it is an honor for me to be the recipient, especially knowing that the other nine finalists were all deserving candidates who easily could have won,” Tebow said. “This award means so much because it's not just how you play on the field, it's not just what you do in the classroom, but it's what you do as a leader and someone who is going to serve your community. That's what's most important about this award, because all these guys are great players and they're extremely intelligent, but more importantly, they're good people. They help their community and they make a difference in this world.”
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and member of the 2006 and 2008 national championship Gator squads, Tebow ended his collegiate career as the Southeastern Conference's Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and holds 13 conference and 26 school records. Entering his final collegiate game against Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl, his career numbers include 85 passing and 56 rushing touchdowns and a 65-percent completion rate.
"What Tim has accomplished in the classroom, on the field and in everyday life are all characteristics everyone can learn from," Florida head football coach Urban Meyer said. "Tim is one of the best people that I have ever been around and is an inspiration to all of us. The one thing about Tim is that his unselfishness and mission outside of football is unparalleled. The impact he has made, it's almost like unselfishness is cool, to realize they can give back and to change someone's life if you can, you should. It goes on more than you think.”
Tebow was recently announced as an NCAA Top VIII winner and was named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. He has logged more than 700 hours of community service and appearances in 2009, lending his time to organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Shands Hospital and the Goodwill Gators. He has maintained a grade point average above 3.5 in his major of family, youth and community sciences.
“Tim is a deserving winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for football. He has demonstrated excellence in the classroom and a commitment to being a leader on the football field. But it is his determination to make his world a better place that speaks to his character as much as anything,” said Tom Lamb, Lowe's senior vice president of marketing. “We salute Tim and wish him continued success following graduation from Florida.”
2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Senior All-America First Team
Name Position School
Kurtis Gregory Offensive Lineman Missouri
Jerry Hughes Defensive End TCU
Dan LeFevour Quarterback Central Michigan
Colt McCoy Quarterback Texas
Tim Tebow Quarterback Florida
Senior All-America Second Team
Name Position School
Zane Beadles Offensive Tackle Utah
Richie Brockel Fullback Boise State
Eric Decker Wide Receiver Minnesota
Zoltan Mesko Punter Michigan
Darrell Stuckey Safety Kansas
-UF-
