PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Commissioner Mike Aresco has announced that University of Cincinnati track and field standout Adrian Valles has been named the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
A senior from Pamplona, Spain, Valles will receive a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. He is the second Cincinnati track and field athlete to by chosen as The American’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining 2014-15 winner Brian Barney. The conference also announced the male winners of the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each institutional winner receives a $2,000 scholarship.
Valles has won five consecutive American Athletic Conference individual championships in the pole vault after he captured his third straight indoor title last week, clearing 5.60 meters to set a school and meet record. He was chosen as the Most Outstanding Field Performer at 2017 American indoor championship and was similarly honored at the conference’s 2015 outdoor championship.
Valles finished fifth at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, was fifth at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships and sixth at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. He represented Spain in the 2015 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Beijing, China.
Valles, who holds a 3.96 grade-point average as an industrial management major, was chosen as a CoSIDA Academic All-America second team selection in 2016. He has been active in a number of community service initiatives, including the Bearcats Pantry, the Freestore Foodbank and Habitat for Humanity.
The American Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of a number of scholarships presented by the conference during the 2016-17 academic year. One male and one female from each of the conference’s 11 member institutions may be named as the winners of the conference’s Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. The conference also names male and female Basketball Scholar-Athletes of the Year and a Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
2016-17 American Athletic Conference Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards
Faculty Athletic Representatives at each American Athletic Conference institution, in consultation with the Director of Athletics and appropriate athletic academic advisors, may annually nominate one male candidate for an Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarship. All nominees must have maintained both excellent academic credentials (minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00) and outstanding athletic performance; must have competed in an American Athletic Conference-sponsored sport; and must have attained a minimum of senior standing, as determined by the respective institution.
| School |
Name |
Sport(s) |
Major |
| UCF |
Robby Howell |
Baseball |
Psychology |
| Cincinnati |
Adrian Valles |
Track and Field |
Industrial Management |
| UConn |
Wyatt Million |
Cross Country |
Biological Science |
| East Carolina |
Travis Watkins |
Baseball |
Management |
| Houston |
Connor Hollis |
Baseball |
Finance |
| Memphis |
Alex Klatt |
Track and Field |
Computer Science |
| USF |
Mark Savarese |
Baseball |
Entrepreneurship |
| SMU |
Bryce Klein |
Swimming and Diving |
Accounting |
| Temple |
Alexander Cagle |
Soccer |
Environmental Science |
| Tulane |
Hunter Williams |
Baseball |
Neuroscience |
| Tulsa |
Adam Roderique |
Cross Country |
Mechanical Engineering/Business Administration |
American Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year
| 2013-14 |
Vaughn Spurrier, Soccer, Temple |
| 2014-15 |
Brian Barney, Track and Field, Cincinnati |
| 2015-16 |
Blair Hamilton, Golf, Houston |
| 2016-17 |
Adrian Valles, Track and Field, Cincinnati |