Sept. 29, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. - UCF senior safety Sha'reff Rashad (Jacksonville, Fla.) has been selected as one of an elite group of 30 candidates for the inaugural Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in football. The award goes to a Football Bowl Subdivision senior who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.
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, added six additional sports in 2007, and has now expanded this year to include NCAA football.
These 30 student-athletes will be narrowed down to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot. The ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select the candidate that best exemplifies excellence in the "Four C's" of Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition. The overall winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for football will be announced during a 2008-09 post-season college football event.
Rashad has clearly excelled in all four fields.
In the classroom, he received his undergraduate degree in criminal justice, with a minor in psychology, this past spring with a 3.428 grade point average. He is presently working towards a master's degree in criminal justice. The UCF Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2007, Rashad has twice been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team. He has twice been named to the Conference USA Football All-Academic Team and is a two-time first-team honoree on the Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sports Scholars Team. He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Thurgood Marshall Achievers Society. Rashad is a four-time member of the UCF Dean's List (3.4-or-better GPA) and an eight-time UCF Athletics Director's Honor Roll honoree (3.0-or-better GPA). He also has a President's Honor Roll Certificate for having a 4.0 semester. Rashad was named to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's Hampshire Honor Society last fall.
Evidence of his strong moral and ethical character comes from his regular volunteering his time and assistance for community activities. He was a 2007 Order of Pegasus Finalist which is the highest honor a UCF student can receive. He was awarded the UCF Scholar Athlete Inspiration Award in 2007 and leads the UCF football bible study program. Proficient in Spanish as well as English, Rashad volunteers for summer camps at his alma mater, Episcopal High School in Jacksonville and still finds time to work a part time job as a sales associate at an Oviedo sports store.
In the local community, Rashad has generously given his time to The Ronald McDonald House, the Orange County Public Schools Transition Program, Habitat For Humanity and Florida Children's Hospital. Back home in Jacksonville, he has also volunteers at Salzbacher Homeless Shelter and Wolfson's Children's Hospital.
In competition, Rashad has similarly excelled. Rashad was named All-Conference USA a year ago as he helped lead the Knights to their first ever league championship and a berth in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. He was an honorable mention All-C-USA pick in 2006 and played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2005 as the Knights won C-USA's East Division and played in their first-ever bowl game, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Last year he became the first Knight since 2003 to make over 100 tackles in a single season as he completed the campaign with 103. This fall he has started all four games and ranks fifth on the Knights with 18 tackles while breaking up four passes. His career totals include 205 tackles, 10.5 of which were for a loss, 22 pass breakups and nine interceptions which ranks him fourth in UCF history. He has started 37 games for UCF including each of the last 31.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.