Wingate's Strickland Named 2021 SAC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate University's Andrew Strickland was voted the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Conference office announced today.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Strickland, a graduate student majoring in accounting, has a 3.817 GPA and is a Wingate Honors Program student. He was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a 2019-20 CoSIDA Academic All-American. He received the Byrum Accounting Awards as Wingate's top accounting student and was the 2019-20 SAC McCloskey Insurance Postgraduate Scholarship Award winner. Additionally, Strickland is a five-time Wingate President's List honoree, three-time Wingate Dean's List selection, and four-time SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll honoree.

"We, as a program, are fired up for Andrew," said Wingate head football coach Joe Reich. "He's is a great leader and person. It's great to see his hard work on the field and in the classroom pay off for him."

A native of Raleigh, N.C., Strickland was a 2019 AFCA All-American, a first team All-SAC selection, and an D2CCA All-Region selection as an offensive lineman. He played in two of the Bulldogs' three games in the shortened 2021 spring season and did not allow a sack during his time on the field, while allowing the Wingate offense to amass more than 632 yards of offense.

Off the field, Strickland has been an instructor at Wingate Football Clinics. He serves as a volunteer at the Wingate One Day, One Dog Day, in addition to volunteering at the Wingate Football Special Olympics Field Day, and he has served as a mentor for the Boys and Girls Club of Union County. Strickland is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is a football position group team captain.   

Football Scholar-Athlete Finalists

Grayson Willingham, Lenoir-Rhyne
Jackson Cauthen, Tusculum
Jimmy Urzua, Mars Hill

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