Overland Park, Kan. - William and Mary senior forward Quinn McDowell was named one of 10 finalists for the 2011-12 Lowe's Senior CLASS Men's Basketball Award, honoring student-athletes who excel both on and off the court. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.

An exceptional leader for the Tribe and a strong representative in the Williamsburg community, McDowell received the Dean Ehlers Leaders Award from the CAA in 2011, which is given to the student-athlete who "embodies the highest standards of leadership, integrity and sportsmanship in conjunction with his academic athletic achievement." A First-Team CAA All-Academic, McDowell is heavily involved in the community. He is the President of the Tribe Fellowship student organization on campus and leads a Bible Study group comprised of high school students at the Williamsburg Community Chapel.

On the court, the Mason, Ohio, native is leading the Green and Gold at 12.5 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds per game. He ranks second in the CAA at 83.8 percent from the free throw line and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (36.1). Earlier this season, McDowell became just the seventh player in W&M to score 1,400 career points and pull down 500 career rebounds. Over the Tribe's last 10 games, the senior forward is averaging 15.1 points per game, including a season-high 26 at Towson on Jan. 11.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 

The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in November. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to determine the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on either the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award website or the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 18. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I men's and women's basketball head coaches' votes to determine the winner.

McDowell joins a list of men's finalists that includes William Buford (Ohio State), Aston Gibbs (Pittsburgh), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Mick Hedgepeth (Belmont), Robbie Hummel (Purdue), Ronald Nored (Butler), Zack Novak (Michigan), Zack Rosen (Penn) and Tyler Zeller (North Carolina). The 10 women's finalists are Denise Beliveau (New Hampshire), Brittany Carter (Memphis), Lauren Edwards (Princeton), Amanda Johnson (Oregon), Emilie Johnson (UCSB), Michelle Kurowski (UMBC), Natalie Novosel (Notre Dame), Nuemkadi Ogwumike (Stanford), Justine Raterman (Dayton) and Brittany Rayburn (Purdue).

Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the men's Senior CLASS Award^® winner during the 2012 NCAA Men's Final Four^®, which will be held March 31 and April 2 in New Orleans. The women's award winner will be announced during the NCAA Women's Final Four^®, which will be held April 1 and 3 in Denver.

About the Award
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School^®, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award honors the attributes of senior student-athletes in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition. The award program is designed exclusively for college seniors who are utilizing their complete athletic eligibility, remaining committed to their university and pursuing the many rewards a senior season can bring. The award is sponsored by Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, and is managed by Premier Sports Management. 

About Lowe's
With fiscal year 2010 sales of $48.8 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE^® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,725 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world. Lowe's is an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA.

About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit NCAA.org and NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.