Oxford, Ohio - The Individual Athletic Awards are awarded to Phis who demonstrate outstanding skill in their respective sport. The George M. Trautman Award and the Harmon-Rice-Davis Trophy are annually awarded to student-athlete Phis for their performance on and off the field.
The George M. Trautman Award
The George M. Trautman Award was created in honor of the late president of the Association of Minor Leagues of Professional Baseball. During the nine years prior to his death in 1963, Brother Trautman served as chairman of the Lou Gehrig Award Committee. The award is presented to the undergraduate Phi who is recognized as the Fraternity's outstanding collegiate representative in baseball.
This year's winner of the George M. Trautman Award is Chris Churchwell from Texas Gamma at Southwestern University. Chris, or "Church" as the Chapter affectionately calls him, is a senior pitcher for Southwestern University. While his main focus is on baseball, Church also played guard for the varsity basketball team for one year. Church's baseball résumé is impressive, earning an SCAC honorable mention for All-Conference selection and a one-time SCAC Pitcher-of-the-Week. Within the Chapter, Church has served as Chaplain, Chorister (winning the Spring Sing Competition), Risk Management Chairman and Phikeia Educator. Outside of the Chapter and team, Church is active in Pi Mu Epsilon (National Mathematics Society) and Omicron Delta Kappa (National Leadership Honors Society), all while maintaining a 3.7 GPA. Chris has proven that he is a leader on the baseball field, in the classroom and within the community. Congratulations Church!
The Harmon-Rice-Davis Award
The Harmon-Rice-Davis Trophy is awarded to an undergraduate Phi who is an excellent varsity athlete, a good scholar, and an active participant in chapter and campus activities. The trophy was presented by Brother Tom Harmon in the name of Brother Grantland Rice. The name was later changed to the Harmon-Rice Trophy in order to commemorate both of these dedicated Phis. Additionally, Brother John Davis was included for his unyielding devotion to Phi athletics.
The winner of the 2011 Harmon-Rice-Davis Award is John Behm from North Carolina Gamma at Davidson College. John is a senior at Davidson College with a 3.44 GPA. He is a three-year letter winner on the football team. As well, he was on the Pioneer Football League Honor Roll all three seasons and was awarded Academic All-Conference and 2nd Team All-Conference this past season. John was also a member of the 2010 AllState AFCA Good Works Team . Only 22 players from the NCAA were selected for this award, honoring those men who showed outstanding effort both on and off the field. He is a Bonner Scholar at Davidson, one of only 20 students to be selected for this scholarship program honoring students who complete in excess of 560+ hours of community service each year. He is also a peer mentor for Cats Connect and the College Speaking Center. In the Chapter, he has been the community service chairman for three terms and the recruitment chairman for one. John is an incredible athlete, philanthropist, and leader. Congratulations John!
The Pirates have started their fall season and kick off the 2012 season on January 28th with the annual Shirley Miller Alumni Game.