KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Syracuse senior attackman Mike Leveille (Delmar, N.Y.) is one of 20 nominees for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in lacrosse. The award, presented annually to NCAA Division I student-athletes in eight sports, focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition.
A two-time captain, Leveille has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I At-Large Second Team in each of the previous two years and will graduate with a degree in accounting in May.
On the field, Leveille has started all 43 games of his Orange career. He currently leads the team in scoring (12 points) and assists (6). He is tied for the squad lead with six goals, including four in SU's 8-7 win against Army on Feb. 24, and is a member of the 2008 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List.
A national media panel will select the 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in late March. Those 10 names will be placed on a ballot for nationwide voting by coaches, media and fans. The winner will be announced and recognized at the 2008 NCAA Lacrosse Championships in Foxboro, Mass.
CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School and the program was launched during the 2001-02 season in response to the trend of college basketball players leaving early to turn professional. The award was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg and was inspired by the story of former Duke star Shane Battier, who could have been an NBA lottery pick but elected to return to college where he led the Blue Devils to the national championship and earned his degree.
Former Orange standout Greg Rommel was a finalist in 2007 for the first Lowe's Senior CLASS Award presented in lacrosse. Cornell goalie Matt McMonagle was the inaugural winner.