Ricketts Earns Academic Award

Oct. 17, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. - University of Oklahoma softball student-athlete Samantha Ricketts was recently honored with the Academic Momentum Award, presented by The Scholar-Baller® Program, in conjunction with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). Ricketts joined Danielle Gant (Texas A&M) and Donnie Avery (Houston) as the Southwestern region's recipients.

"It has been amazing to see the changes that Samantha has made in her life since attending the University of Oklahoma," said OU head coach Patty Gasso. "She has worked to become the model student-athlete; not only excelling in the classroom but taking it to another level on the field and in the community. She is a very balanced student-athlete, and I believe this balance gives her the confidence to lead others in the same direction. She is well deserving of this award and we are very proud of her."

Last season, the all-American earned first all-academic Big 12 honors. She is a member of OU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership team.

The NCAS is an ever-growing organization of colleges and universities that provides opportunities for current and former student-athletes to continue their pursuit of higher education, while working in the community with children to address social issues. Established in 1985, the overall mission of the NCAS is "to create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power appeal of sport to positively affect social change."

Established in 1995, the Scholar-Baller® movement evolved in response to concerns that the student-athlete's athletic role increasingly superseded the student role. In order to address this issue, the founding members of Scholar-Baller® developed a groundbreaking program to bridge the gap between education and sport utilizing student-athletes' passion for entertainment and athletics. As a result, the Scholar-Baller® program has produced unprecedented outcomes in student retention and academic achievement.

As a result, the Scholar-Baller® program has produced unprecedented outcomes in student retention, academic achievement, and long-term career motivation.

Each honoree will receive a recognition certificate and authentic Scholar-Baller® patch. In addition, the winners of each region will receive a Thinkman^TM and Thinkwoman^TM Trophy for their academic performances.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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