PIAA District VI Continues with Student Athlete Scholarship Program

PIAA District VI will continue its scholarship program to award $20,000 divided among 100 students from member schools in honor of the late Dean Rossi, a longtime Hollidaysburg Area and Huntingdon Area High School Athletic Director and District VI official.

“At our banquet every April, we have every school district submit a male and female name of who they believe displayed the highest level of sportsmanship,” said District VI Chairman Bill Marshall, who is the superintendent at Penn Cambria High School. “Each member school will be submitting a male and female name. We’ve ramped up the criteria a bit. District VI is going to give every student-athlete nominated a $200 scholarship. We’ll be awarding $20,000 in scholarships this year.”

PIAA District VI approved this format beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year. District VI will utilize revenue from online ticket sales to district football and basketball tournament games to help boost the scholarship fund, Marshall said.

“The Committee believes it is important to recognize and award students who represent the shared values of sportsmanship and serve as role models as student-athletes in our member schools,” said Marshall, who noted Rossi emphasized good sportsmanship throughout his time as an athlete, athletic director and district administrator.

Each school will submit their award recipient names to the District VI Sportsmanship Scholarship Chairman, Chuck Gojmerac, by April 1.

The criteria includes:

• The student-athlete must participate in at least one PIAA-sanctioned sport within the last calendar year and graduate in 2022.

• The student-athlete must have a 2.5 or higher grade point average.

• The selection does not have to be the best athlete, but should be a student-athlete that has been coachable, a great teammate and displays the ideals of sportsmanship in and out of the athletic arena.

• Any student-athlete that has been ejected from a PIAA athletic contest is ineligible for the award.