IUP's Joe Rocco is the second NCAA Elite 88 award recipient from the PSAC this year.
IUP's Joe Rocco honored as recipient of NCAA Elite 88 Awards
Story Courtesy of IUP Sports Information
IUP junior Joe Rocco has been named the recipient of the NCAA Elite 88 Academic Award for Division II men's basketball and was recognized at a banquet held the Monday evening prior to the start of the Elite Eight tournament last week.
The Elite 88 Award is presented to one individual at each of the 88 national championships sponsored by the NCAA. The recipient must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and is based on his or her undergraduate cumulative grade point average.
The IUP junior is the second PSAC student-athlete to be a recipient of an NCAA Elite 88 award. Shippensburg field hockey student-athlete Kristen Brooks was honored as the Division II field hockey championships in the fall, and she was the first-ever recipient of the Elite 88 award, which is in its first year of existence this academic year.
Rocco, from Northern Cambria, has a 3.949 grade point average through his first five semesters at IUP. He is a biology major who plans on attending medical school following his graduation in May 2011. Rocco has received all As and only one B during his entire academic career.
On the basketball floor, Rocco has played in 17 games with two starts this season and has seen action in 63 over the past three years with nine career starts. He has scored 70 points including a career-high 11 in his college debut vs. Penn State Fayette as a freshman in 2007-08.
Rocco has saw important minutes in the NCAA Atlantic Region tournament, including three offensive rebounds, an assist and a steal in the semifinal win over West Virginia State.