PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Memphis track and field graduate student Luke Vaughn was named U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)
Men’s Outdoor Field Scholar Athlete of the Year to conclude a tremendous career with the Tigers. Vaughn becomes the second American Athletic Conference track and field athlete to earn this designation after Tulsa’s Marc Scott earned the Indoor Track Scholar Athlete of the Year honor in 2017.
Vaughn, who earned his Master of Arts in Teaching with a cumulative GPA of 3.77, is a four-time outdoor field American Athletic Conference champion, winning both the shot put and discus twice. He also won gold in the 2018 conference indoor shot put throw with a conference-record toss of 18.72 meters. The native of East Peoria, Illinois won the NCAA discus crown this season at Historic Hayward Field with a heave of 60.41meters (198-2).
He became the eighth American Athletic Conference track and field athlete to win a national title over the past two seasons. Vaughn is the second athlete from Memphis to be named Scholar Athlete of the Year (Manuel Ziegler in 2013). In addition to Scott and Ziegler, he is the third individual representing an active conference member school to earn this title, as Chris O’Hara of Tulsa was the indoor track Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2013.
Vaughn was one of 75 track and field student-athletes from The American to collect USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in 2018. On the men’s side, Memphis led the conference with 11 All-Academic selections. Cincinnati led the conference’s women teams with nine selections. To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and have met at least one of the following athletic standards:
- For the indoor season, a student-athlete must have finished the regular season ranked in the national top 96 in an individual event or ranked in the national top 48 (collective listing) in a relay event on the official NCAA POP list provided by TFRRS.org.
- For the outdoor season, a student-athlete must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Championships (including preliminary rounds).
Nine American schools were additionally named All-Academic Teams by the organization for having at least a 3.00 cumulative team GPA. The list included Cincinnati’s men’s and women’s teams, Memphis’ men’s and women’s teams and Tulsa’s men’s and women’s programs. The UConn men, ECU women, Houston women, USF women, Tulane women and SMU joined them on the list.