INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Former Saint Leo University baseball student-athlete Dale Irving (2013-15) was recently awarded with an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. A total of 174 scholarships are available to be awarded every year over the three levels of the NCAA including Divisions I, II and III.
 
Irving plans to use the scholarship to help offset costs as he attends the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in pursuit of a doctorate of dental surgery (DDS).
 
"Getting this scholarship definitely means a lot to me and is something I am very proud of," said Irving. "It's a great feeling to be honored for my academic and athletic accomplishments by the NCAA. I'm so thankful for my time playing baseball at Saint Leo and the doors that it has opened for me. There is no way I'd be where I am today without the help of the professors, athletic faculty, and coaches I had at Saint Leo. I especially want to thank Coach Sean O'Connor and Athletic Director Mr. Fran Reidy for all their help and letters of recommendation."
 
The one-time non-renewable scholarships of $7,500 are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
 
All former student-athletes who earned an undergraduate degree from an NCAA member school are eligible to be nominated by that school for an NCAA graduate degree scholarship, regardless of when they received their undergraduate degree.
 
"We are extremely proud and excited Dale was selected for a NCAA postgraduate scholarship," said Saint Leo Vice President and Director of Athletics Francis X. Reidy. "He is very deserving and a perfect model of what Saint Leo University and NCAA Division II looks for in an athletic and academic balance. We look forward to calling him a Doctor of Dentistry in the near future."
 
Irving spent two seasons on the Saint Leo baseball team after transferring from the University of Central Florida. In his first season, he was honored with an ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region Gold Glove Team selection after starting 44 of the Lions' 49 games. He had an outstanding .996 fielding percentage with 221 putouts from behind the plate. As a senior in 2015, he earned CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District honors and appeared in 46 games for the Lions.
 
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage graduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership are evaluated.  An equitable approach is employed in reviewing an applicant's nomination form to provide all student-athlete nominees an opportunity to receive the graduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race.  In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through graduate study.
 
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