University of Oklahoma Athletics
Beene, Darlington Receive Gautt Scholarship
June 08, 2016 | Athletics
| OU's All-Time Recipients of the Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship | |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 |
Marissa Beene (rowing) |
| 2014-15 | Alec Robin (gymnastics) Jessica Vest (softball) |
|
2013-14 |
Kendric Maple (wrestling) Lara Albright (gymnastics) |
| 2012-13 | William Kogel (cross country/track & field) Nicole Furmanek (rowing) |
| 2011-12 | Patrick Piscitelli (gymnastics) Megan Ferguson (gymnastics) |
| 2010-11 | Brian Lepak (football) Ellen Mueller (golf) |
| 2009-10 | Kyle Terry (wrestling) Amy Backel (track & field) |
| 2008-09 | Jacob Massina (gymnastics) Haley De Prospero (gymnastics) |
| 2007-08 | Josh Weitzel (wrestling) Christina Baxley (tennis) |
| 2006-07 | Carl Pendleton II (football) Brittney Koncak-Schumann (gymnastics) |
| 2005-06 | Thomas Garrison (tennis) Amparo Gala Marco (golf) |
| 2004-05 | Joshua Gore (gymnastics) Emily Milberger (golf) |
| 2003-04 | Renaldo Works (football) Caton Hill (basketball) |
| 2002-03 | Chris Mitchell (tennis) Stephanie Simon (basketball) |
| 2001-02 | Betsy Berry (golf) |
| 2000-01 | Stephanie Webb (cross country/track & field) |
| 1999-00 | Virginia Russell (gymnastics) |
| 1997-98 | Roxanne Long (basketball) |
| 1996-97 | Jenny Bramer (basketball, track & field) |
NORMAN — Recent University of Oklahoma graduates Marissa Beene (rowing) and Ty Darlington (football) were among the 20 student-athletes from Big 12 Conference schools who were named recipients of the 2015-16 Dr. Prentice Gautt Postgraduate Scholarship, the league office announced Wednesday.
The scholarships are named in honor of the late Dr. Prentice Gautt, a former Big 12 Conference staff member and student services' pioneer who passed away in March 2005. Gautt, who earned his undergraduate degree from OU in 1960, broke new ground in 1956 as the first African-American football student-athlete at the university under Hall of Fame head coach Bud Wilkinson.
A two-time All-Big Eight Conference football selection and CoSIDA Academic All-American, Gautt played professionally for the Cleveland Browns in 1960 and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961-67.
The list of all-time recipients of the scholarship has grown to 381 since the inception of the league in 1996-97. Starting in 2002-03, additional funding increased scholarship award winners to two per member institution.
To date the Big 12 has provided more than $2.7 million for postgraduate education. The individual grants began at $2,500 in 1996-97, were raised to $5,000 in 1999 and increased to $6,900 for 2004-05. The awards climbed to $7,500 in 2006-07, moved to $9,000 in 2011-12 and are now at $10,000 since 2013-14.
Beene, a computer science major, graduated in May with a 4.0 GPA. She has also taken part in an accelerated master's program in which she has clocked 18 credit hours toward a master's degree in robotics and machine learning at OU. Beene, who will spend much of her summer in Mountain View, Calif., interning for Google, is a three-time CRCA Scholar Athlete, a 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team member, and a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection. The Tempe, Ariz., native was the stroke seat for the Oklahoma 2V8 that took second at the 2016 Big 12 Championship and consistently stroked the OU first or second varsity eight during her senior season.
For Darlington, who has already earned his master's degree despite graduating from high school four years ago, the award is another to add to his already loaded resume. He was named the Big 12 scholar-athlete of the year for football and a became a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American while also winning the Campbell Trophy (given annually to college football's outstanding scholar-athlete), the Wuerffel Trophy (awarded to the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement) and the Bobby Bowden Award (presented to the FBS player who epitomizes a student-athlete). Darlington was also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the Wooden Citizenship Cup. The center played in 12 games for the national semifinalist Sooners in 2015, earning All-Big 12 First Team honors.
Criteria for the awards include a cumulative GPA of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, participation in at least two years of intercollegiate athletics at the nominee's respective institution and completion of athletics eligibility. The student-athletes also must graduate from their respective member institutions within 15 months of their selection for a postgraduate scholarship and are expected to enroll in graduate/professional schools within two years of graduation. Three faculty representatives, one senior woman administrator and one director of athletics form the selection panel for the awards.
