University of North Carolina Athletics
Four Tar Heels Earn ACC Weaver-James-Corrigan Honors
February 19, 2015 | Baseball, Field Hockey, Track & Field, Fencing, Academics
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Three North Carolina student-athletes have been selected as recipients of 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarships and another has been named an honorary recipient. The four Tar Heels are among 53 academic and athletic standouts honored by the ACC on Thursday.
UNC's Gillian Litynski (women's fencing), Cameron Overstreet (women's track and field) and Loren Shealy (field hockey) will receive postgraduate scholarships. Benton Moss (baseball) is one of eight ACC student-athletes honored who plan to pursue professional careers in their chosen sports and received honorary awards.
Litynski is a nursing/global studies double major from Niskayuna, N.Y. Overstreet is an exercise and sport science major from Mechanicsville, Va. Shealy is a business administration major from Charlotte, N.C. Moss is a business administration/economincs double major from Enfield, N.C.
For biographies of all of the honorees, click here.
The 53 student-athletes will be honored at the annual Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Luncheon hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis Club and presented by ESPN on April 15 at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.
Eight student-athletes will receive the Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award. In addition to Moss, they are: Clemson tennis player Hunter Harrington, Duke basketball player Elizabeth Williams, Georgia Tech golfer Anders Albertson, Louisville cross country runner Andrew Stewart, Miami tennis player Monique Albuquerque, Notre Dame swimmer Emma Reaney and Virginia soccer player Morgan Brian.
The Weaver-James-Corrigan Award is named in honor of the late Jim Weaver and Bob James, as well as Gene Corrigan, the first three ACC commissioners.
The league's first commissioner, James H. Weaver, served the conference from 1954-70 after a stint as the Director of Athletics at Wake Forest University. His early leadership and uncompromising integrity are largely responsible for the excellent reputation enjoyed by the ACC today.
Robert C. James, a former University of Maryland football player, was named commissioner in 1971 and served in that capacity for 16 years. During his tenure, the league continued to grow in stature and became recognized as a national leader in athletics and academics, winning 23 national championships and maintaining standards of excellence in the classroom.
Eugene F. Corrigan assumed his role as the third full-time commissioner on September 1, 1987, and served until August of 1997. During Corrigan's tenure, ACC schools captured 30 NCAA championships and two national football titles.
Prior to 1994, the Weaver-James postgraduate scholarships were awarded as separate honors. The Jim Weaver Award, which originated in 1970, recognized exceptional achievement on the playing field and in the classroom, while the Bob James Award, established in 1987, also honored outstanding student-athletes.
The Thacker Award, which originated in 2005, is awarded in honor of the late Jim and Pat Thacker of Charlotte, North Carolina. Jim Thacker was the primary play-by-play announcer for the ACC's first television network. Recipients of the award must demonstrate outstanding performance both in athletic competition and in the classroom and intend to further their education through postgraduate studies at an ACC institution.
