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INDIANAPOLIS | University of North Georgia men’s basketball player Tanner Plemmons is a 2016 recipient of the NCAA Division II Degree Completion Award after a national committee selected him on the basis of academic performance, athletic achievement and involvement in campus and community activities.
Plemmons averaged 9.4 points and shooting 43% from the field his senior season. From Franklin, N.C., he was named a Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll Bronze Scholar this season and was one of eight PBC student-athletes to earn the award. In his final game as a Nighthawk, Plemmons’ connected on nine 3-pointers matching the North Georgia single game record for threes shared by himself (Nov. 18, 2014 vs. Brevard) and Jason Gibson (1995-96 season vs. Voorhees). The senior guard hit five threes in the first half and added three more in the first 4:15 of the second period. The record-tying shot came at the 3:09 mark of overtime. This past spring at the inaugural Nighthawk Awards Gala, Plemmons was awarded the Nighthawk Spirit Award, presented annual to a student-athlete that rebounded from a previous season disappointment or injury to have a significant impact on this year’s team, and the Male Most Outstanding Performance. The NCAA established the Division II Degree Completion Award Program in 2001 to provide deserving student-athletes financial assistance for them to complete their first baccalaureate degree. Candidates will be students who have exhausted their athletics eligibility and have received athletics financial aid. The selection process for the national award emphasizes the academic performance of the student-athlete. Other factors considered are financial circumstances, athletic achievement and involvement in campus and community activities. To date, nearly $4 million has been given to approximately 1,000 deserving student-athletes. Of those student-athletes who have received the award since its inception, 94 percent have earned their undergraduate degree using this program. |
