Feb. 19, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Megan Wilderotter, a senior guard on Samford's women's basketball team, has earned a Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarship from the NCAA, the organization recently announced.

Wilderotter was one of 13 student-athletes to receive the Women's Enhancement Postgraduate Scholarships. In addition, 13 additional student-athletes were awarded Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarships.

Wilderotter said she was notified about the possibility of applying for the award by Samford's Faculty Athletics Representative, Dr. Chris Metress.

"Dr. Metress e-mailed me about it and told me I should probably apply," Wilderotter said. "One scholarship was for minorities and one was for women's enhancement, so I applied for both. Then the lady from the NCAA who is in charge of scholarships e-mailed me a couple of days ago and told me I got it."

Recipients of the scholarships must be seeking admission or have been accepted into a sports administration or related program that will help them obtain a career in intercollegiate athletics. Scholarship winners have one year to use the one-time award of $6,000.

Wilderotter will graduate from Samford this spring with a degree in exercise science and sports medicine. She has maintained a high grade-point average throughout her time at Samford and she now has an impressive 3.90 GPA. Wilderotter was named to the Southern Conference's 2008-09 Winter Academic All-Conference team.

On the court, Wilderotter has been a starter through most of her career at Samford. She currently ranks in the top 10 in school history in assists, steals, free throws made, free throws attempted, games played and games started.

In addition to her work in the classroom and on the court, Wilderotter has been heavily involved in Samford's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This year, Wilderotter is a Co-Chairman of the SAAC.

Wilderotter said she has not decided where she will do her postgraduate work yet.

"I plan to go to PA (Physician's Assistant) School," Wilderotter said. "I'm just applying to a lot of places and going to see where I get accepted. My goal is to be a PA for either an orthopedic surgeon or a team doctor at a university."

The scholarship programs were developed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee with the goal of increasing the pool of and opportunities for qualified minority and female candidates in intercollegiate athletics.