Oct. 24, 2008

Rice's Chase Clement is one of 10 finalists for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for college football, the company announced today. Clement is the second Rice student-athlete to be named a finalist for one of the Senior CLASS awards. Rice pitcher Cole St. Clair was name the winner of the baseball version of the honor last spring.

The announcement of the 10 finalists launches a nationwide balloting process to determine the 2008 recipient for the honor that combines on-field and off-field achievements for NCAA Division I football seniors in the Bowl Subdivision.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact on their circle of influence.

This prestigious awards program was launched during the 2001-02 basketball season. Lowe's, an Official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, added six sports in 2007 and expanded the award again this year to include NCAA football.

Joining Clement as a member of the first group of finalists are tight end Travis Beckum (University of Wisconsin - Madison), offensive lineman Jeff Byers (USC), linebacker Maurice Crum, Jr. (Notre Dame), quarterback Chase Daniel (Missouri), linebacker James Laurinaitis (Ohio State), center Alex Mack (California - Berkeley), defensive tackle Darryl Richard (Georgia Tech), punter/kicker Louie Sakoda (Utah), and kicker Austin Starr (Indiana).

These 10 senior student-athletes will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding December 10th. Votes from coaches and media will be coupled with fan balloting to determine the recipient of the award. Fans can vote online during this time period at www.seniorclassaward.com. For the first time in the award's history, text voting will also be available starting Saturday, October 25th. To vote via text, fans will send the text code (see below for a complete list) corresponding with the student-athlete of their choice to 839863.

The overall winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for football will be announced during a 2008-09 post-season college football event.