Graduating Senior Soccer Player Matt Horn (second from left) is shown with (from left) Athletic Director Tom Hickman, SAAC Advisor Norma McDuffie, Faculty-Athletic Representative Evelyne Weeks and President Anthony DiGiorgio
HILTON HEAD, SC – Winthrop men's soccer player
Matt Horn (Mooresville, N.C.) was the recipient of one of two Bob McCloskey Insurance Big South Conference Graduate Fellowships during Thursday night's Awards and Hall of Fame Dinner in Hilton Head. Horn along with High Point women's soccer player Brielle Spencer received $2,000 scholarships.
The Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship Program was established by the League in the Fall of 2005 as a means of recognizing the academic excellence of Big South Conference student-athletes who intend to pursue postgraduate studies upon graduation from a Big South Conference institution.
Horn was a four-year letterwinner for the Eagles -- the last three as a starter. He played in more than 70 games in his career as a defender, and helped Winthrop capture back-to-back Big South championships in 2008 and 2009 as well as two NCAA Tournament berths. A two-year captain, Horn concluded his career with three assists and three points. Horn, who has volunteered with the American Cancer Society, Read Across America and the United Way, is a 3.922 student in biology and will attend the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
Horn has served the Big South Conference as its SAAC President and national representative at the Division I level. He capped his playing career being voted a First-Team Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American -- the first Winthrop men's soccer player to achieve this honor. A finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award this past fall as an All-America Second-Team honoree, Horn was also named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) Men's Scholar All-South Region Second-Team. In addition, Horn was a two-time Big South Men's Soccer All-Academic Team selection and was the 2010 Big South Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient. During his time at Winthrop, he has been a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society and the Book and Key Honor Society. In the spring of 2011, Horn was awarded the Griffin-Guettler Award for Winthrop's male athlete with the highest GPA, the Ken Stanton Award for going above and beyond the call of duty in leadership, and Winthrop's Student Life Award for Student Service Project of the Year that involved Samaritan's Feet Initiative (award presented to Winthrop's SAAC 2010). Last month he received Winthrop's Senior Academic Award, which is presented annually to the male and female with the highest grade-point average among all senior athletes.
Nominations for the Graduate Fellowship are made by the Faculty Athletics Representative or the Chief Academic Officer at a Big South member institution, and are limited to one male and one female at each school. To qualify for the Big South Conference Graduate Fellowship, applicants must have the following requirements:
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Have an overall undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of 3.500 or better based on a maximum 4.000, or the equivalent in other recognized grading systems;
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Have competed in intercollegiate athletics as a member of a varsity team at a Big South Conference member institution;
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Must be either a graduating senior during the academic year of the award, or be enrolled in a graduate program at a Big South Conference institution while completing the last year of eligibility;
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Intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree and enroll into a graduate degree program at a properly accredited, non-profit educational institution or into a post baccalaureate professional degree program at a professionally accredited law school, medical school or the equivalent, without restriction as to the national site of the institution;
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Have evidenced superior character and superior leadership;
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Have demonstrated that participation in athletics and community service has been a positive influence on the nominee's personal and intellectual development. Relative success in athletics is important but not of overriding significance;
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Enroll in a graduate degree program the term subsequent to being awarded the fellowship or present a rationale for deferred matriculation.
