Medal of Honor is Big Ten's oldest award
Park Ridge, Ill. -- Matt Proper of the men's volleyball team and Sarah Haupt of the women's swimming and diving team have been selected as Penn State's recipients of the Big Ten's oldest award, the Medal of Honor.
Both student-athletes excelled both athletically and academically in their careers and this is just the latest of numerous honors that have been garnered by both remarkable individuals throughout their careers.
First awarded in 1914, the Big Ten endowed a Medal of Honor to be given annually to a student in the graduating class of each university that demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. In 1982, the Medal of Honor was expanded to include a senior female athlete from each institution. Since the introduction of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, more than 1,100 student-athletes have been awarded the honor.
Proper graduated in May with a 3.47 grade point average in Information Sciences & Technology. He was a second team AVCA All-America and a first team All-EIVA selection. He was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District second team. He helped the Nittany Lions advance to their first national title match in 11 years with 22 kills on .452 hitting in the national semifinal win over then-No. 1 UC Irvine.
He ended the year ranked 16th in the nation with 4.23 kills per game, leading the Nittany LIons in the category. He was also the recipient of the McCoy Award earlier in the year, which is given to the Penn State student-athlete who has combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence.
This year, he led the team in kills in 19 out of 30 matches, including six matches with 20 or more kills. For his career, he left his mark on the Penn State record books, ranking sixth all-time in career total blocks (356), career block assists (322) and third in service aces (108).
Haupt earned her degree in May in psychology, graduating with a 3.6 grade point average. She was a three-time All-American, a nine-time Big Ten Champion, and a five-time Big Ten record holder.
A four-time academic All-American, she recently became the third Nittany Lion swimmer and the 41st Penn State student-athlete to earn the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. She helped lead the women's swimming and diving team to consecutive Big Ten Championships while earning first team All-Big Ten honors in all four years, capturing the Big Ten individual title in the 100 backstroke this past year. She also qualified for an competed in the NCAA swimming and diving championships in each of her four years.
She was also a recipient of the 2006 Ernest B. McCoy Memorial award, given to the Penn State student-athletes who has successfully combined athletic participation with academic excellence.