Ten NCAA® football student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were tabbed as finalists today for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the football division. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior in the Football Bowl Subdivision and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School™, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates that were announced in September. Nationwide balloting begins immediately to determine the winner. Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award™ winner in early January.

The 2009 finalists are: Zane Beadles, University of Utah; Richie Brockel, Boise State University; Eric Decker, University of Minnesota; Kurtis Gregory, University of Missouri; Jerry Hughes, TCU; Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan University; Colt McCoy, University of Texas; Zoltan Mesko, University of Michigan; Darrell Stuckey, University of Kansas; and Tim Tebow, University of Florida.

These 10 names will be placed on the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award football ballot for a nationwide vote beginning today and concluding December 6. Fan balloting is available on the award’s official Web site, http://www.seniorclassaward.com/, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text FOOTBALL to 74567 to vote for the finalists. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award.