CLEVELAND, OHIO - - Belmont University senior Justin Hare (Cleveland, Tenn.) received yet another prestigious national honor Friday, as he was named 2008 Scholar Athlete of the Year by the Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association.

This is the latest award in a long and distinguished career for Hare. Last week, the 6-2 guard was named Mid-Major Most Valuable Player by CollegeInsider.com. A month prior, Hare was named First Team Academic All-American – becoming the third Bruin to earn multiple Academic All-America honors.

Hare is a two-time Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament MVP, a two-time First Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference player and led Belmont to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

Hare is one of just 12 student-athletes in NCAA Division-I men’s basketball to be recognized. Moreover, Hare is one of just two honorees to have played in this year’s NCAA Tournament, joining Travis Lay of American University.

The Cleveland, Tenn. native sports a 3.87 GPA in his major of exercise science and health promotion. He plans to attend medical school upon graduation.

Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been an integral part of their respective team’s success. A special Review Committee of Division I-AAA athletics directors was responsible for selecting the winners.

This marks the sixth year the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) has released a Scholar-Athlete Team. Hare was also part of the team a year ago, as was former Bruin standout Adam Mark in 2004.

Division I-AAA member institutions are those who do not participate in intercollegiate football.

A complete list of award winners can be viewed at www.nacda.com.