USF track and field and cross country athlete, Billy Brockmueller has earned the 2014 Dr. William Briton Scholar Athlete Award for Academic Excellence as announced by the conference office on Wednesday. Brockmueller, a double major in professional accounting/business administration and computer information systems, is the first Cougar student-athlete to win the award.
The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University. The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male student-athlete for the Britton Award. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual's primary sport. The award is voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.
The Brandon Valley High School graduate holds a 4.00 GPA while excelling in cross country and track & field for the Cougars. Brockmueller boasts the honor of earning the NCAA Elite 89 Award on two separate occasions. He first earned the award at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country National Championships and again at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The Elite 89 Award is given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing at each of the 89 championships. He also earned multiple regional and national awards, including being named to the NSIC All-Academic team and earning the NSIC Myles Brand Award.
Brockmueller was also selected as an Undergraduate Fellow in the South Dakota Bio-medical Research Infrastructure Network (SDBRIN) Undergraduate program in summer 2012. His research project explored the possibility of quantum tunneling of electrons in the human brain.
On campus Brockmueller was involved in the student senate, was president of math/computer science club, tutored physics and computer science and was a member of the USF Honor Program.
Brockmueller was a 2013 NCAA Cross Country All-American, All-Region and All-Conference performer. He also earned NSIC All-Conference and All-Region honors in indoor and outdoor track & field. He holds the USF record in the indoor mile, the outdoor 10000m run and is part of a record holding indoor distance medley relay team.
In his spare time, Brockmueller has assisted with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, providing a free service support to low-income individuals and families with filing of their taxes. He has also volunteered at the Sioux Falls Furniture Mission, Food Pantry, Ronald McDonald House, the Banquet, and Feed my Starving Children throughout his college career. He also volunteered at Swan Lake Christian Camp near Viborg, S.D. as a worship leader and support staff leading music and activities for children in 3rd grade - high school.
The 15 male student-athletes nominated for one of the NSIC's most prestigious awards will also be honored as NSIC Male Student-Athletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Brockmueller will be recognized Wednesday, July 9 at the 2014 NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet at the Best Western Kelly Inn and Convention Center in St. Cloud, Minn. and also will receive a $2,500 post-graduate scholarship.
