Barbour nominated

No, Columbia senior Brian Barbour isn't running for office but is in the running for something better.

Senior Brian Barbour was selected as one of 30 NCAA men's basketball student-athletes as candidates for the 2012-13 Senior CLASS Award. 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. 

Barbour is a 2011-12 First Team All-Ivy Leaguer, who averaged 15.5 points and 4.4 assists in 30 games last season. In addition to his stellar play on the court, the Alamo, Calif. product is involved with Alex's Lemonade Stand - an organization that supports Pediatric Cancer research - and also volunteers at the soup kitchen at St. John the Divine and multiple basketball clinics in the area.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the 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 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 men's and 10 women's finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one men's finalist and one women's finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. 


The men's Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta April 6 and 8.