Feb. 28, 2006
ST. LOUIS -
Illinois State senior Neil Plank highlights a list of 17 student-athletes honored as part of the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Tea, announced Monday by the league office.
For the third-straight season, Plank has earned selection to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® University Division Men's Basketball Team. Plank, who carries a 3.93 cumulative grade point average in finance, is one of three Valley representatives on an all-district team. Voting for the 2006 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team was conducted by the league's sports information directors.
Plank is a repeat first team MVC Scholar-Athlete selection, and he is joined on the first-team unit by Southern Illinois' Jamaal Tatum, Wichita State's Paul Miller, Creighton's Anthony Tolliver and Indiana State's Trent Wurtz.
The criteria for the Missouri Valley Conferences Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade-point average (4.0 scale). Student-athletes must have reached sopho¬more athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
