Jays Swift Earns Scholar Athlete Honor

 Jimmy Swift of Creighton University has been selected the final Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the 2008-09 academic year, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced today.  Swift was honored for his performance during the period of May 18-24.  The Valley’s Scholar-Athlete program, which is sponsored by Prairie Farms, Roberts and Hiland Dairies, honors conference student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom.  The program began during the 1999-00 academic year.
        “Prairie Farms’ family of dairies has been one of the more staunch supporters of the Missouri Valley Conference’s athletic and academic objectives,” said Commissioner Elgin, who is in his 21st year with The Valley.  “It is through Prairie Farms’ commitment to the league’s student-athletes that we are able to recognize individuals like Jimmy (Swift) for their athletic and academic success.”
        An infielder for the Creighton baseball team, Swift, a sophomore from West Des Moines, Iowa, batted .462 (6-for-15) to enable the Bluejays to reach the championship game of the 2009 State Farm MVC Baseball Tournament.
        A member of the all-tournament team, Swift, who has a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average in finance, scored five runs, drew a team-high six walks and posted a .611 on-base percentage during the tourney. 
        To qualify for Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.00, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing.  In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.