Springfield, OH – Nathan Matthews, a 2019 Wittenberg University men's volleyball graduate, was named as a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for the spring semester of the 2018-19 academic year. The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship is one of the most prestigious awards a college student-athlete can achieve.
Matthews enjoyed a historic career in the Red & White, which included playing on the first varsity men's volleyball team in Wittenberg history, journeying all they way to closing out his career by helping Wittenberg claim its first conference regular-season title in program history. Matthews will receive a one-time renewable $7,500 scholarship that he can apply to graduate studies starting in August of 2019.
Matthews is one of 21 spring sport student-athletes that have earned an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship during the 2018-19 year. He will be using his postgraduate scholarship at the University of Kentucky, where he will be pursuing a Masters of Sport Leadership. While in Lexington, Matthews will serve as a teaching assistant in UK's Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion for the 2019-20 academic year. Matthews will move over to become the graduate assistant for the UK women's volleyball program for the 2020-21 school year.
Always grateful for his experience as a student-athlete, at a school which Matthews says, "truly embraces the Division III philosophy" stating, "At Wittenberg, I got to be a part of starting the men's volleyball program and achieving the program's first conference championship. However, what makes Wittenberg special is that me being an athlete did not limit my experiences off the court." Matthews was a double major in Sport Management and Business, while also holding multiple leadership positions in organizations across campus. An active and engaged member of campus, Matthews served as an advocate for LGBT inclusion in sports, along with leading the women's volleyball program at Tecumseh High School.
"At Wittenberg, I was not only permitted to be involved with all of these pursuits but was actively encouraged and supported," Matthews said," Wittenberg made winning this award possible and provided a college experience that very few schools can match. For that, I want to say thank you to everyone that made the last four years at Wittenberg so rewarding."
"I am very excited for Nathan earning this prestigious scholarship. He worked very hard during his four years at Wittenberg and was an integral part of our program and the success that we had. I know that he is going to put this to good use going forward and I wish him the best of luck," said Head Coach Ryan Thompson.
"We are so very proud of Nathan for earning Wittenberg's eighth NCAA post-graduate scholarship. Nathan embodied all that it means to be a Wittenberg Tiger and provided all of us a living example of what it means to "Tiger Up" in all facets of his life," said Vice President and Director of Athletics and Recreation Dr. Gary Williams, "It was an honor and a privilege for us to be a part of Nathan's life on and off the court, and we are extremely excited to see what is ahead for him as he now passes his light on to others."
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the NCAA's most accomplished student-athletes. Nominees must maintain at least a 3.2 grade-point-average and perform with "distinction" in intercollegiate competition. The student-athlete must also intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a part-time or full-time graduate student.