The award is a joint creation of Jostens, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., and the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The purpose of the award is to honor the Division III basketball player who shows "excellence in the classroom, on the playing court and in the community."
Schantz finished the regular season leading the Continentals in both scoring and rebounding, tallying 26.3 points per game and grabbing 12.8 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in the nation in scoring and second in rebounding, making him one of only two players in the country to be ranked in the top ten for both categories. His 2,117 points and 1,132 rebounds make him only the second Hamilton player in school history to score at least 2,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds in a career.
For the second consecutive year, Schantz has earned Player of the Year honors from the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association and Eastern College Athletic Conference – Upstate New York region. He also was honored as the New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Year and named to the First Team of all three conference affiliations.
Off the court, Schantz is an economics major with a 3.0 grade point average and a three-time winner of the Ned Doyle award, given to the top Hamilton male student athlete each year. He recently received the prestigious Earl Cline Scholarship in recognition of his high moral values. Schantz has served as a volunteer in the NABC Dream to Read program and was the keynote speaker at the New Hartford Middle School Health Day. He also has worked as a payroll administrator and Intramural Commissioner at Hamilton.
His hard work and dedication, both in the classroom and on the basketball court, has earned Schantz the respect and admiration of his peers and coaches. "He's the first one on the court and the last one to leave," said Head Coach Tom Murphy. "When you have someone with that kind of work ethic, it's bound to spread throughout the team."
"We've been in the NCAA Tournament every year he's been here," Murphy stated, "His influence, both on and off the court, has gone a long way to help our program."
Murphy also pointed out the importance of the award. "This is obviously a great honor for Michael," he said. "It not only recognizes him for his tremendous athletic ability, but also his academic success and community service."
In addition to the trophy, the Wooldridge Scholarship – a $1,000 donation – will be presented to Hamilton College in Schantz's name. The scholarship is named after Dan Wooldridge, a Salem Rotarian and retired commissioner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, who is known for his long-time commitment to Division III athletics.
The award will be presented at the Salem (Va.) Rotary Club Thursday, March 18 in conjunction with the Division III men's basketball "Final Four."
