Armwood product Sollazzo named D-I AAA’s scholar athlete of the year

Posted Apr 4, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Apr 4, 2012 at 03:36 PM

Former Armwood High standout Adam Sollazzo, now a senior at East Tennessee State University, was named Division I-AAA Men’s Basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.

The award is chosen by members of the division’s Athletics Directors Association. Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletics credentials. Nominees also must have played in at least 50 percent of the team’s games listed on the nomination form.

Sollazzo, who holds a 3.72 grade point average and is studying business marketing at ETSU,  met all these requirements by leading the ETSU men’s basketball team in scoring and assists during the 2011-12 season. He has also been involved in various community service efforts and campus life.

Later this spring, Sollazzo, who received the highest number of votes from the list of 22 nominees, will graduate Magna ##### Laude.

‘“I give all the credit to my parents, because they have continually pushed me to excel both on the court and in the classroom,” said Sollazzo, a 2008 Armwood graduate and winner of the Tampa Tribune’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year. “They taught me that hard work pays off, so I would just like to say thank you to them.”

Basketball players from all Division I-AAA ADA member institutions were eligible for the award. A total of 99 schools were represented in this group, including programs from conferences such as the Big East, Conference USA, Colonial, Atlantic Sun, Southern and Ohio Valley.