IHSAA Foundation Awards $27,000 in Scholarships to 21 Indiana Senior Athletes

The IHSAA Foundation and Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics selected 21 senior student-athletes from across Indiana to receive a combined $27,000 in scholarship money spread across 10 named awards, the organization announced March 20. The scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 each, can be applied toward a four-year college, two-year college, or trade and technical school.

Recipients were drawn from more than 20 schools statewide, including Churubusco, Concord, Cowan, Crawfordsville, East Central, Eastern Hancock, Edgewood, Greencastle, Greenwood, Hammond Bishop Noll, Highland, Homestead, Kankakee Valley, Knox, Kokomo, Noblesville, North Montgomery, Oregon-Davis, and Southridge, among others. Edgewood placed two recipients among the 21 selected.

The ten named scholarships honored in this round include the Bobby and Kathy Cox Post-Secondary Scholarship, the David Cranfill Truehearted Teammate Award, the Pris Dillow "Seize the Day" Post-Secondary Scholarship, and the Amy Hasbrook Family Leadership Award, among others. The IHSAA Foundation's Scholarship Committee, working alongside family and friends of each scholarship's namesake, evaluated applicants on their records in athletic competition, academic achievement, and community impact. More than 100 completed applications were submitted from across the state.

These awards were announced alongside a separate but related announcement: 13 seniors will each receive a $2,500 IHSAA/C. Eugene Cato Memorial Scholarship. The Cato program honors the legacy of former IHSAA Commissioner C. Eugene Cato, who led the association from 1983 to 1995 after serving as assistant commissioner from 1976 to 1983. Known for his "Firm, Fair, and Friendly" approach, Cato believed deeply in the role athletic competition plays in shaping character. He passed away in 2008.

New Palestine senior McKenzie Hacker is among the 13 Cato scholarship recipients. A four-sport varsity athlete for the Dragons, Hacker was selected through a process that drew over 100 applicants statewide. A blue-ribbon panel that included Andy Arnold of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, Bobby Cox and Bob Gardner as IHSAA Commissioners Emeriti, Dr. Phil Eskew Jr. of IU School of Medicine, Andy Matis of the Indianapolis Colts, and IHSAA Commissioner Paul Neidig reviewed and decided upon the final recipients.

To qualify for consideration, applicants had to be enrolled and actively participating in athletics at an IHSAA member school, earning a varsity letter in at least one of the 24 IHSAA-sanctioned sports, nominated by their school's principal or athletic director, carrying a minimum 3.00 GPA, and free of any violations of their school's athletic code of conduct.

All scholarship recipients, along with graduates of the IHSAA's Student Advisory Committee, will be recognized at the inaugural IHSAA Foundation Impact Awards at Gridiron Hall inside the Indianapolis Colts Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Sunday, April 12. Forté Sports Medicine Research and Education Foundation will also present the Brady Comeback Award at the event, honoring student-athletes who overcame injury or hardship during their high school careers.

Since 2003-04, the IHSAA and IHSAA Foundation have recognized 347 student-athletes with scholarships totaling $736,000. The program is supported by partners including Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Fever, the Indiana Pacers, Musco Lighting, Eventlink, and Sport Graphics, Inc.