CLEVELAND, Ohio -- University of Evansville senior Jason Holsinger has earned numerous awards this year for his basketball and athletic achievements, but he hasn't been the number one selection nationally in any category. Until today, that is. The 5'11" guard from Lapel, Ind. has been voted as the Division I-AAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The honor comes from the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association, which includes the 95 NCAA Division I colleges and universities that do not sponsor football.

Holsinger heads the 12-man Division I-AAA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Team that also includes Mike Schachtner and Ryan Tillema of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Tomas Jasiulionis of St. John's, Chad Troyer of Pacific, Robin Smeulders of Portland, Andy Wicke of Belmont, Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island, Kevin Lisch of Saint Louis, Phillip Martin of Radford, Yves Mekango Mbala of LaSalle and Milan Prodanovic of Iona. Juniors and seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.2 were eligible.

Holsinger was a first team selection on the Men's Division I Academic All-America Team, with a 3.89 GPA in Economics. He was one of five national finalists for the Chip Hilton Award, one of 30 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior Class Award, and co-recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. He finished as the 12th leading scorer in University of Evansville history with 1,442 points and finished number three in Missouri Valley Conference history with 283 three-point field goals. This season, Holsinger averaged 12.4 points and helped lead the 17-14 Purple Aces to their best record since 2000, and to their first post-season appearance (CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament) since 1999.



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