NORMAL, Ill. - For his tireless efforts in the trenches on the defensive line and for his intense work in the classroom, Illinois State head football coach Brock Spack has awarded junior defensive tackle Eric Brunner the W.E. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year.
The W.E. Ruebush (REW-bush) Endowed Scholarship is named for the former Illinois State football team captain in 1932. Ruebush, who died in 1991, lettered four years as a center on the Redbird football team, before graduating in 1932. He also lettered two seasons in baseball and basketball and was active in the Gamma Phi Circus, the "N" Club, band and orchestra, Commerce Club, Varsity Club and the Philadelphian Debate Society.
"Eric is a very competitive and hard-working player," Spack said. "He is one of our leaders on the team and somebody we can trust to do the right things, both on-and-off the field. Since we've been here, he's been the best player at his position in the league and he has shown to be an even better student. He represents everything this scholarship is about and we feel he represents everything you could want in a collegiate football student-athlete."
Brunner started in all 11 games on the defensive line for the Redbirds in 2009 and maintains a 3.48 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) in finance at Illinois State. The Greendale, Wis., native was chosen as a Second-Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference and All-Academic selection, after ranking fifth on the team with 47 tackles. He also added 1.5 sacks, seven tackles-for-loss and was credited with a team-high seven quarterback hurries in his first season as a starter. Brunner recorded a career-high nine tackles and against Western Illinois (Nov. 7) and finished the season with seven tackles in the Redbirds' win over No. 9 Northern Iowa (Nov. 21).
"It's quite an honor to be selected as this year's recipient of the W.E. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship," Brunner said. "It means a lot to me that Coach Spack thinks that highly of me as a player and person to select me for this scholarship. Coach Spack always stresses to us that good grades carry over to playing well on the field. I fully believe that and try to stay balanced in my work and studies to be as successful as I can in both areas."
The Ruebush Endowed Scholarship is presented annually to a Redbird football player who carries at least a 3.2 GPA. The scholarship was established on October 22, 2005, by the W.E. Ruebush Foundation, which was funded to provide journalism and athletic scholarships. In addition to the scholarship at Illinois State, the foundation has also funded higher education awards at Iowa and Florida.
The W.E. Ruebush Endowed Scholarship is one of 23 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. It is also one of eight fully endowed scholarships in athletics and the only one dedicated to football. For more information about establishing an endowed scholarship, please call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
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