OXFORD, Miss. – Recent Ole Miss graduate and former track and field All-American Lee Ellis Moore has been recognized as a recipient of one of college athletics’ most prestigious honors, the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award.
The award recognizes eight student-athletes who completed their athletics eligibility during the 2010-11 academic year for their success on the fields and courts, in the classroom and in the community. Award recipients will be recognized Jan. 13 at the Honors Celebration during the NCAA Convention in Indianapolis.
Moore is the second Ole Miss recipient of the prestigious award since its inception in 1973, joining former Rebel quarterback Eli Manning, who received the honor in 2004.
“Being selected as one of the eight top student-athletes in the nation is a remarkable accomplishment,” said UM Athletics Director Pete Boone. “Lee represents the best in college athletics. His dedication in achieving his absolute best in both his academic and athletic pursuits is phenomenal.”
Serving as a three-time team captain, Moore was named the 2011 SEC Men’s Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a four-time Capital One Academic All-American (a two-time first-team selection). The four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll pick received the Ole Miss Athletics Director Scholar-Athlete Award in 2010 and 2011. In recognition of his academic accomplishments, Moore was inducted into Alpha Epsilon Delta, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.
A 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles, Moore placed in the top 10 during the NCAA national championships three times during his four years at Ole Miss. Honored as a first team All-American in the 400-meter hurdles, Moore was the Southeastern Conference champion in that event and was named first team All-SEC in 2011. The Cordova, Tenn., native also set a school record for the event in 2010.
Moore, who served as an officer on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, also was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Team and the planning team for National Student-Athlete Day. He also volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of Oxford and was a member of the 2011 SEC Track and Field Community Service Team.
“This is another major honor for an extraordinary young man,” said Ole Miss track and field coach Joe Walker. “He was and is a great representative of Ole Miss track and field. We are very proud of him.”
“Lee Ellis Moore epitomizes the term student-athlete,” said Karen Schiferl, Ole Miss senior associate athletics director for academic support. “Lee shined in the classroom and on the track. The University of Mississippi honored him as a Taylor Medalist, and the SEC and NCAA awarded him postgraduate scholarships. Still excelling as both a student and athlete, he is currently attending medical school and recently competed in the Pan Am games. I am thoroughly delighted that the NCAA has now recognized him with this prestigious Top VIII award.”
2012 NCAA Top VIII Award Honorees:
Sam Acho: University of Texas at Austin, football
Kelsey Bruder: University of Florida, softball
Shannon Gagne: University of New Haven, indoor and outdoor track and field
Kayla Hoffman: University of Alabama, gymnastics
Lee Ellis Moore: University of Mississippi, indoor and outdoor track and field
Danielle Robinson: University of Oklahoma, basketball
Kendra Stern, Amherst College, swimming and diving
Brittany Viola, University of Miami (Florida), swimming and diving