Wingate's Marius Dan Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
June 29, 2004

Courtesy Wingate University Sports Information Office

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior tennis player Marius Dan (Hunedoara, Romania) has earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, NCAA officials announced today. The NCAA has awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 men and 29 women who participated in spring sports.

Dan is the second Wingate University student-athlete to earn an NCAA postgraduate scholarship during the 2003-04 academic year. Bulldog senior volleyball standout Lindsay Hinson (Tallahassee, Fla.) was awarded a $7,500 grant for participants in fall and winter sports.

Most recently, Dan received the 2003-04 South Atlantic Conference Presidents Award, following a vote of the league’s Faculty Athletics Representatives. Last month, Dan was named to the 2004 Academic All-District III at-large first team (college division), selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Dan holds a 3.968 GPA in his Finance major.

Dan won the South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete Award for men’s tennis three times. He achieved a rare academic and athletic “double-double” three years in a row, as he was also named All-SAC for his playing abilities on the court. Dan was Wingate’s 2004 team MVP.

During his career, Dan compiled a 38-32 overall singles record against some of the toughest competition in the NCAA Division II. As a senior, he was 11-8 overall record in singles, playing primarily at the number two spot. Dan was 5-1 in SAC regular season singles play in 2004. In addition, Dan compiled a 10-5 record in doubles during his final campaign.

Thanks to his leadership, Wingate made the NCAA Division II play-offs in 2002. The post-season tournament bid was only the second NCAA play-off berth in school history.

Dan’s off-the-court exploits are legendary. He was a member of the NCAA Division II national Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Dan was only the second Wingate student-athlete to serve on this national panel. He delivered a speech at the 2004 NCAA Convention. He was also heavily involved in the Wingate University and South Atlantic Conference SAAC.

Dan was active in Wingate University’s Leadership Fellows program for three years. A graduation marshal as a junior, Dan is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Chi honor societies. He was named to the Wingate University President’s List seven times (3.80 GPA or higher). Dan graduated summa cum laude at Wingate’s May 8 Commencement Exercises.

In addition to his stellar record in the classroom and on the court, Dan found time to be involved in the campus community. He was a Presidential Ambassador. In addition, he was a tutor in the Academic Resource Center. He was one of only two students selected to serve a one-year term on the Academic Affairs Committee at the University.

Dan won the Pickette Williams Memorial Athletic Award at Wingate University’s 2002 and 2003 Athletic Awards ceremonies. This scholarship is awarded to a male student-athlete selected by the athletic staff to have demonstrated exemplary sportsmanship.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated.

The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.