June 28, 2007

MILWAUKEE - Billy Meier, a senior on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team, has been named the 2007 recipient of the Horizon League's Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor, the league office announced today.

Meier is the seventh Panther to earn the honor and the third men's honoree in a row, following Josh Nygren (men's track & field) in 2006 and Antou Jallow (men's soccer) in 2005. Meier also joins Jallow as the only men's soccer players to be chosen for the honor.

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"Billy Meier continues to make us proud in all he has accomplished and how he has represented Milwaukee in his time on campus," UWM Athletic Director Bud Haidet said. "He continues to be recognized nationally for his work in the classroom, his contributions to our campus and community are exemplary and his accomplishments on the athletic field are very impressive. Our student-athletes continue to set very high standards, both athletically and academically, and Billy has continued that tradition and done a remarkable job of defining exactly what it means to be a Panther student-athlete. This is a very well-deserved honor for Billy."

Meier, who was also named the Pepsi/UWM Male Athlete of the Year and received the prestigious UWM Alumni Association Herman Kluge Award earlier this spring, has mastered the combination of athletic and academic accomplishment, receiving numerous awards in his career for his playing abilities and his work in the classroom.

As a four-year player and three-year starter on the men's soccer team, Meier capped his illustrious career by earning First Team All-Horizon League honors and was also named the league defensive player of the year. In addition to helping post four shutouts in the final seven games of the year, the Panther captain recorded a career-best three goals - including two game-winners - and eight points. He earned First Team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region honors as well as an invitation to the Major League Soccer Combine in January.

"Billy is an exceptional individual and is very deserving of this honor," UWM head coach Jon Coleman said. "The one thing that really stands out is that he has stayed dedicated and committed to what he wants in and out of the classroom and has let nothing get in his way of reaching his goals. He has been able to balance soccer and school in such a way that he gets the best out of both. He had a great senior season and five exceptional years at UWM. It wasn't easy for him at the start, but he worked extremely hard. The way the award is defined - dignity, achievement, purpose - he has all of those bases covered. His attributes exemplify this honor. I just hope his trophy shelf is big enough for all of the awards he has won this year."

For his work in the classroom, Meier earned national academic honors from two different organizations. He was selected Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America and Second Team NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America. The NSCAA scholar awards are among the most prestigious in soccer, as the organization chooses its teams from a group that includes all colleges and levels, and is not split into divisions. In addition, he was a First Team NSCAA Scholar All-North/Central Region member, First Team ESPN The Magazine All-District and named to the Horizon Academic All-League Team. He maintains a 4.0 grade point average as a graduate student at UWM after carrying a 3.80 GPA in business as an undergrad.

Off the field, Meier has been a Career Day volunteer at Atwater Grade School, and also has worked as an academic tutor. His community service efforts include time with the Community Clean-Up program at UWM as well community outreach work at the Kunkle Center, UWM's Children's Center.

Mary Parker, a soccer player at the University of Detroit, was named the Coleman Medal winner on the women's side. Parker earned Horizon League Player of the Year honors for the second time in her career last fall and became the first student-athlete in UDM history to win First-Team Academic All-America notice from the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The Coleman Award, which is named in honor of the league's first commissioner, is the highest athletic honor given out each year by the Horizon League. It is presented annually to the league's top male and female student-athletes who best exemplify the dignity and high purpose of the league and its membership. The individuals demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities.

Each candidate must be a senior who has exhausted his/her eligibility and was a participant on the varsity level in a league-sponsored sport. In addition, nominees must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or its equivalent.