OSU's Brown Receives National Academic Award

Oklahoma State senior guard Markel Brown has been named a recipient of the 2013 Academic Momentum Award, which is presented annually by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS), it was announced on Tuesday.

Brown, a starter for the Cowboys' basketball team, was one of 10 student-athletes named a first-team selection, joining others across all sports at the Division I level. Majoring in education at Oklahoma State, he will graduate in May.

Other members of the First Team were: Melissa Arthur, Rutgers lacrosse; Shavon Coleman, LSU basketball; Anthony Creecy, N.C. State football; Marion Grice, Arizona State football; Larissa Melendez, Adelphi track & field; Ariel Morton, LSU tennis; Trovon Reed, Auburn football; Kourtney Roberson, Texas A&M basketball; and Morgan Steigerwalt, Arizona State gymnastics.

Top nominations were categorized into three teams based on each student-athlete's academic improvement and the impact each student-athlete's academic performance had on his or her classmates, teammates, academic advisors and professors. A total of 10 male and female award recipients from NCAS partner schools were selected for the Academic Momentum Award First Team, and 15 recipients were chosen for the Second and Third Teams.