Josh Miller Earns Scholar Athlete Award

The following article appeared on http://www.odaconline.com/ on Decemeber 22, 2009.   Congratulations to Josh!

H-SC's Miller Earns Scholar-Athlete Award

Tigers' Football Standout Tabbed for ODAC/Farm Bureau Honor

SALEM, Va. --- Hampden-Sydney College gridiron standout, Josh Miller, is one of eight student-athletes from Old Dominion Athletic Conference member schools to earn a 2009 ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award during the fall athletic schedule. Miller, who tied with Washington and Lee University's Greg Kurkis for the award, was tabbed from a pool of nominees by a vote of each of the conference's sports information directors.
The ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award is given to a student-athlete in each of the conference's 22 sponsored sports.
 Farm Bureau Insurance of Virginia is the presenter of each of the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards, forming a partnership with the ODAC to emphasize the NCAA Division III philosophy of the complete student-athlete experience. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore standing and have spent at least one full academic year at the nominating institution, must maintain at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average, and must have participated in at least 50-percent of the team's events.

"It's a great honor to be recognized by the SID's and other schools around the conference for athletic accomplishments as well as academic ones," explained Miller in a phone interview. "My family has always made academics a really important aspect of my brothers and sisters and my career in college, so it's a really great feeling to be honored for all of the hard work that's been put in."

Miller, a senior from Stephens City, Virginia, stars as a history and religion major in the classroom and as a linebacker on the Tigers' football team. A six-time honoree on the H-SC Dean's List, Miller boasts a 3.85 grade point average. He was named to the 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, and went on to earn a spot on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. He is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society and is a three-time Academic All-ODAC honoree.

On the field, Miller helped lead the Tigers to the 2009 ODAC title and the program's first undefeated season since 1971. He finished third on the team and 12th in the ODAC with 71 total tackles this past season, registering 11.5 tackles for a loss and 3.0 sacks. His performance can only be outdone by his durability as he played in each game possible during his career.

"One of the interesting parallels between football and class is that there are times in both that you just have to put your head to the grindstone and maybe do some extra things that will make you successful. I think they both require discipline and that is what has helped me be successful in both."

For more information about the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards, visit the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.