Belton a Finalist for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award

Diverse: Issues In Higher Education magazine has announced the Top 10 male and female finalists for the 2013 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. The winners will be profiled in the April 11, 2013 edition. The finalists were chosen from over 500 outstanding minority student-athletes nominated by their respective institutions. The NCAA is the co-sponsor of this annual award.

Senior quarterback Clay Belton is among these male finalists along with the following student-athletes:

Andrew Nunez – Caldwell (Baseball
Laurence Bowers – Missouri (Basketball)
Ryan Evans – Wisconsin (Basketball)
Twany Beckham – Kentucky (Basketball)
Chris Burnette – Georgia (Football)
Devn Hedgepeth – Oklahoma State (Football)
German Decena – William Paterson (Football)
Joel Kight – Mississippi (Football)
Javier Balboa – Iowa (Gymnastics)

The female finalists are listed below:

Jessica Harlee, West Virginia (Basketball)
Kastine Evans, Kentucky (Basketball)
Kody Burke, North Carolina State (Basketball)
Monique Weathers, Benedict (Basketball)
Shayla Bivins, Georgia Tech (Basketball)
TaKenya Nixon, Eastern Illinois (Basketball)
Michelle Ikoma, North Carolina (Gymnastics)
Alexandra Couzo, Felician (Soccer)
Ifeatu Okafor, Texas Tech (Track)
Minami Yamamura, California-Davis (Gymnastics)

Belton, an honorable mention all-conference selection in each of the past two seasons, threw for a school record 2,329 yards during his final year to go along with 15 touchdown passes.  He averaged 232.9 yards per game through the air and completed 58.2 percent of his passing attempts.

He ended his two-year career ranked second all-time at UF in passing yards (4,368), pass completions (356) and pass attempts (626).

Black Issues In Higher Education magazine, now Diverse, established the Sports Scholars Awards to honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr.

A scholar and athlete, Ashe sought to expand opportunities for young people. Each year Diverse: Issues In Higher Education invites every postsecondary institution in the country to participate in this awards program by nominating their outstanding sports scholars. In addition to their athletic ability, students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must exhibit academic excellence as well as community activism.

To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport; maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2; and are active on their campuses or in their communities. This year the NCAA partnered with Diverse to present this standout class of scholar athletes and over 500 male and female students from across the country were nominated.

Past recipients of the award include: Baylor University's (2011) Robert Griffin III, Heisman Trophy winner; the University of Tennessee's (2003) Kara Lawson, ESPN analyst who played for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs; San Diego State University's (1993) Marshall Faulk, NFL Hall of Famer; and the University of Kansas' (1996) Jaque Vaughn, assistant coach for the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.