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Wednesday, September 26, 2007 NCAA selects Brian Hung as 2007 Sportsmanship Award Recipient By Andy Yanne @ 2:38 PM :: 571 Views :: Former Michigan men's tennis captain and doubles All-American, Brian Hung, was selected from a national ballot of close to one hundred nominees amongst all sports in all three divisions as the male recipient of the 2007 NCAA Sportsmanship Award. The NCAA Sportsmanship Award honors student-athletes who, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics, have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility. Selections are made by the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct. The award was first presented in 1999 as the Outstanding Sportsperson of the Year Award, and was renamed the NCAA Sportsmanship Award in 2001. Unless records suggest otherwise, he is the first student-athlete from Hong Kong, and of Chinese origins, to win this award since its inauguration eight years ago. The NCAA annually honors those who make lasting contributions to intercollegiate athletes. Current and former student-athletes are recognized for their work on the field and in the classroom, their contributions to society and their ability to inspire those around them (See Awards). Several of the nomination criteria imposed on the Nominees include (but not limited to): - Demonstrated consistently good sportsmanship and ethical behavior in his/her daily participation in intercollegiate athletics - Demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting - Must be in good academic standing However, each conference may nominate only one male and one female student-athlete that satisfy the nomination criteria. From this pool of candidates, only one male and one female winner will be chosen as the annual recipient. Earlier this year, Brian was already selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) as its 2007 ITA/Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award recipient for the Midwest Region. The accolade went to a junior or senior player who exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership, as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements. Brian was the first from the University of Michigan to earn the honor since its inception in 1983. After the season-ending NCAA Championships back in May, Brian tied John Hui (Pepperdine) as the only two men from Hong Kong to have garnered Men's Division I All-American status when he finished amongst the Top-10 in the year-end Fila Collegiate Rankings for doubles together with teammate, Matko Maravic. They were not only the first All-Americans from Michigan in 13 years; they were also the first Wolverines to win an All-American in doubles since Ed Nagel and former Wimbledon runner-up, MaliVai Washington, did so in 1988. During the 2006-07 season, the duo reached the final of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships in October before making a semifinal appearance at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships the following month. At the turn of the New Year, they ascended to No. 2 in the Fila Rankings, which happended to have eclipsed John Hui's previous best of No. 8 set during the 1999-2000 season. Usually recognized more for his doubles prowess, Brian also achieved a career-high ranking of No. 39 for singles, which also bettered Wayne Wong's (Berkeley) previous high of No. 41 set three years ago. He recorded his third 20-win season en route to his first career All-Big Ten selection and first career bid to the NCAA Singles Championship. As the first-ever student-athlete from the Big Ten Conference to receive the NCAA Sportsmanship Award, Brian graduated with High Distinction from University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business this past April with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He currently works as an investment banking analyst with Merrill Lynch in New York City. Related Stories: Brian nets All-American to conclude stellar career (26 Jun 2007) Hung Receives ITA Sportsmanship & Leadership Award (mgoblue.com, 15 May 2007) U-M's Hung and Maravic Selected to All-Big Ten Team (mgoblue.com, 26 Apr 2007) Sources www.itatennis.com www.mgoblue.com www.ncaa.org Photo courtesy of Michigan Men's Tennis