UW-Madison student receives Arthur Ashe award

Shannon Brown, a Chancellor’s Scholar and one of the most honored players in Badger women’s soccer history, has received the 1998-99 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award from Black Issues in Higher Education.

The award ceremony was held Monday, April 12 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The publication gives the annual award to one female and one male student of color who best exemplify the standards of scholarship, athleticism and humanitarianism set by the late tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr. The other recipient this year was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a senior psychology major and basketball player at Western Kentucky University.

“I feel extremely honored to receive an award that is named after such a great man who did so much for others,” says Brown, “and I’m gratified that I was chosen from a pool narrowed down to just over 400 student-athletes of color from around the country. There are many others who are succeeding, often against tremendous odds.”

Those selected to receive the Ashe award must excel in their respective sports, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher, and have a proven record of service to their community or institution. Nominations are solicited from all accredited colleges and universities.

Brown, a senior majoring in journalism and Spanish, has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.979. She earned a perfect 4.0 last semester, when she also had her best season on the soccer field.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America selected her as a first-team Academic All-American and a second team All-American defender for 1998. She was named the Wisconsin women’s soccer team’s Most Valuable Player and co-Defensive Player of the year, and was honored as the 1999 Madison Sports Hall of Fame Female Athlete of the Year. She credits her team’s success for making her honors possible.

In addition to excelling in her studies and on the soccer field, Brown participated in S.H.I.N.E ’98, a student-produced benefit concert for the Salvation Army of Madison and Camp Heartland, a summer camp for children impacted by HIV/AIDS.

“It was a great experience and I loved helping others, especially kids,” she says. “I wish I had more time to do a lot more things.”

Says Mercile Lee, assistant vice-chancellor and director of the Chancellor’s Scholarship Program, “Education has remained Shannon’s top priority, so she has always set high standards for herself. Her parents instilled those values in her at an early age.” Brown’s parents, Mary and Clarence Brown of Madison, and her older brother, Brandon, are alumni of UW–Madison.

Shannon will receive her bachelor’s degree next month and says she’s ready to begin a career in public relations or advertising, preferably in Chicago, where she was a public relations intern for the U.S. Soccer Federation in 1997.

What advice would she give to youngsters who might want to follow her path to success? “An education and an open mind are the most valuable assets anyone can have – they open many doors.”

(For more complete information on Shannon’s soccer career at Wisconsin, including her many honors, contact Heidi Pearce at UW Women’s Sports Information, 263-1983.)