July 7, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Recent graduate Hunter Abrams of Millsaps College has been selected as one of 174 recipients of a 2007-08 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, becoming one of 58 student-athletes that compete in a spring sport in NCAA Divisions I, II and III to receive a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship.

"It's a great honor and it will definitely help out with the cost of school," Abrams said. "Coach Wise informed me of the opportunity to apply and helped do a majority of the paperwork, while other people in the athletic department contributed."

Abrams is currently enrolled at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) in Jackson where he will spend three years in the physical therapy program.

A Columbus native and standout infielder for the Majors' baseball team from 2004-07, Abrams is the school's career-leader in hits (240), at-bats (664) and sacrifices (27), while ranking third all-time in RBIs (170), fourth in doubles (49) and fourth in total bases (324).

A .361 lifetime hitter, Abrams was a four-time Academic All-SCAC selection and two-time SCAC All-Tournament Team, All-SCAC and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI selection. He has also been named to the ABCA All-South Region, ABCA Gold Glove, ABCA All-American and NCAA Central Regional All-Tournament teams during his solid four-year career.

Abrams was the recipient of the 2008 Archie Lamb Sportsmanship Award, reiterating his positive impact on and off the diamond as a Millsaps scholar-athlete. The Archie Lamb Award is presented annually to a male and female student-athlete who best exemplifies sportsmanship, character and attitude while approaching their teammates, coaches and other respective officials in a positive manner.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated.

An equitable approach is employed in reviewing each applicant's nomination form to provide opportunity to all student-athlete nominees to receive the postgraduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race. In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study in an accredited graduate degree program.