Erin Barno Earns Prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
Scott McGuinness
WASHINGTON, Pa.. – Washington & Jefferson College senior field hockey player
Erin Barno (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff) was awarded the prestigious $7,500 NCAA postgraduate scholarship for fall sports on Tuesday, March 5.
Barno is one of only 29 females among all NCAA divisions to earn the scholarship. An art and mathematics double major, Barno owns a 3.86 grade-point average. After graduation in May, Barno plans on working towards a master’s degree in art with intentions to become a college professor.
She is the fifth W&J student-athlete since 2007 to earn a postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA, joining Sean Maddock (2011, men’s soccer), Matt Drakeley (2010, men’s basketball), Megan Ferderber (2009, women’s soccer) and Sam Mann (2007, baseball).
The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time grants of $7,500 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. During each sports season (fall, winter and spring), there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women.
In 2011, Barno helped W&J win its first-ever Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship and make its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The two-time Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III North Atlantic All-Region choice finished her career tied for the W&J assist record with 21. She also tied for third in the school record book in both goals (31) and total points (83).
Barno is also a three-time Alpha Scholar and a recipient of the college’s Magellan Scholarship. The team captain also is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honorary Society) and the Alpha Lambda Delta (Academic Honorary Society). She is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large award winner. Barno and her senior teammates tied the school record for wins by a senior class with 48 during their four years.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the association’s most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated. In maintaining the highest standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study in an accredited graduate degree program.
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship eligibility is restricted to student-athletes at NCAA member institutions who, in their final year of eligibility, have performed with distinction as members of varsity teams in the sport for which they were nominated. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 (based on a 4.0 scale), be nominated by the faculty athletics representative or designee, and intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree and enroll in a graduate degree program on a part- or full-time basis at an academically accredited graduate or degree-granting professional school.