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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University's Iosua Siliva finalist for Ashe Award

Austin Peay State University’s Iosua Siliva finalist for Ashe Award

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Governors Sports - APSUFairfax, VA – Austin Peay State University football player Iosua Siliva has been named a finalist for the 2014 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, an annual award given by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

APSU Football's Iosua Silva. (Brittney Sparn/APSU Sports Information)
APSU Football’s Iosua Silva. (Brittney Sparn/APSU Sports Information)

The finalists were chosen from over 600 minority student-athletes nominated by their respective institutions.

To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport; maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2; and are active on their campuses or in their communities.

This year the NCAA Office of Inclusion has partnered with Diverse to present this standout class of scholar athletes. Past award recipients include Robert Griffin III, Marshall Faulk and Kara Lawson.

Siliva is on track to graduate in May with a 3.89 GPA in Agriculture-Sustainable Development. He is a four-time member of the President’s List along with three other semesters on the Dean’s List (3.5 GPA).

Iosua SilivaHe also is a three-time member of the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll and a seven-time Athletics Director’s Honor Roll member. He received the OVC Medal of Honor in 2012-13 for owning the highest GPA (4.0) for his respective conference sport.

Despite his academic success in high school, he nearly was not admitted to Austin Peay, needing committee action to do so. A Vailoa, America Samoa native, Siliva was chosen as the Fox College Sports Student-Athlete of the Game when the Govs played host to Tennessee Tech in the 2012 season finale.

Siliva moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore at defensive end. After playing much of 2012 season inside, he was shifted back out to defensive end late in the season. He remained at defensive end for season’s remainder.

Last season Siliva was named to the Senior Bowl Preseason Watch team as well as to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-OVC team. However, he missed nearly the entire month of October with a leg fracture.  He returned to play the season’s final two games, finishing the season with 13 total tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

This is the latest in a long line of academic honors for Siliva. In January, he was named to the FCS Athletics Directors Association All-Stars. In December, Siliva was picked as Capital One Second-Team Division I Academic All-Americans by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Previously, he was named to the Capital One District 3 Academic All-District team, his third such selection.

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