Spartan men's soccer student-athlete receives NCAA postgraduate scholarship
AURORA, Ill. -- Aurora University Spartan men's soccer senior defender Drew Taylor (DeKalb, IL/DeKalb H.S.) added a highly distinguished honor to his already impressive academic and athletic resume. Taylor is one of 58 NCAA student-athletes to be awarded educational grants through the NCAA postgraduate scholarship program. The winners (29 men and 29 women) represent fall-sports participants who will receive one-time, nonrenewable grants of $7,500.

The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The Association awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. 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.

Earlier this year, Taylor was named to his second Academic All-America team, this one coming from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America with the first coming from CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine. The NSCAA selected Taylor as a Second-Team Scholar All-America, the same recognition he received from the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America process. He was selected to the NSCAA Scholar North/Central Region First-Team and the ESPN the Magazine District V Academic All-District First-Team.

Taylor, a history major at AU, was honored for his academic success as a student-athlete. Taylor is no stranger to post season academic recognition. In 2006 he was named by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America to the NSCAA All-North Central Region Scholar Athlete Honor Roll and was a Northern Athletics Conference Scholar-Athlete.

On the field he was a four-time All-Conference player (senior and junior - Northern Athletics Conference/sophomore and freshman - Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference) as a defender. As a freshman he was named the NIIC Newcomer of the Year.

Taylor anchored a defense that had 10 shutouts and 0.85 goals against average. He had two goals, three assists with one game-winning goal. The AU men's soccer program finished the 2007 season with a 12-4-5 record and 8-0-2.

Courtesy of Aurora University, Sports Information Department, February 26, 2008.