Big Ten Release

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that 33 Maryland student-athletes competing in intercollegiate athletics were named Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award recipients. The list includes student-athletes from 13 different teams from the baseball, women's basketball, field hockey, football, women's gymnastics, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, track & field and volleyball programs who have recorded a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year.

The 2016-17 class of Distinguished Scholar Award recipients includes two student-athletes who maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA during the previous academic term in Zoe Stukenberg (women's lacrosse) and Aaron Franco (men's soccer). Stukenberg graduated with a degree in Biological Sciences this past spring while Franco is pursuing a degree in business.  

Big Ten Faculty Representatives established the Distinguished Scholar Award in 2008 to supplement the Academic All-Big Ten program. Similar to the Academic All-Big Ten honor, Distinguished Scholar Award recipients must be letterwinners in at least their second academic year at their institution. However, the Distinguished Scholar Award encompasses only students with a minimum GPA of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year, excluding summer school. The Academic All-Big Ten threshold is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for a student's academic career.

2016-17 BIG TEN DISTINGUISHED SCHOLARS