Austin Ajiake Earns Mountain West's Highest Honor
8/3/2023 11:55:00 AM | Football
Congratulations to the winners of the 2022-23 Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of the Year award!
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) August 3, 2023
This award is the highest honor presented to a student-athlete by the MW@UNLVathletics@wyoathletics#AtThePEAK pic.twitter.com/s5SqyS2aXD
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Former UNLV football star linebacker Austin Ajiake has become only the second Rebel from any sport to be named Mountain West Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Thursday.
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Ajiake (AH-g-kay), a native of Fremont, California, closed out his stellar career by leading the conference in tackles last season while also becoming a five-time Academic All-MW honoree and three-time MW Scholar-Athlete.
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"Having known Austin Ajiake for over half a decade, I have witnessed first-hand that he is a person of great character and leadership as a football player, a student and a family man," said UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper. "He is a perfect example of the modern collegiate student-athlete and is certainly deserving of this great honor."
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Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in 1999, the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is the highest honor presented by the conference. The award is bestowed annually to the man and woman who best exemplify the term student-athlete by achieving excellence in athletics, academics and community involvement. In addition to athletic achievement, recipients of the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average, demonstrate leadership, and exhibit good character and conduct on and off the playing field. Each honoree will receive a $2,500 postgraduate scholarship.
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"I want to thank the Mountain West for this award," said Ajiake. "It's a blessing to be able to represent not only the conference, not only the school but also the community of Las Vegas. I don't take it for granted. I appreciate the fact that my leadership has been recognized and this lets me know what I'm doing is for a purpose and that I'm on the right track in life."
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A First Team All-Mountain West selection, Ajiake finished fifth in the nation with 132 total tackles, a number that tied him for fourth in UNLV single-season history. He became the first Rebel linebacker to be named first team all-league since 2016. The September 26 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week also added 11 tackles-for-loss, four quarterback sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
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In May, the graduate of Bellarmine Prep, was named UNLV's Mehdi Bouras Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He earned his bachelor's degree in urban studies in May 2022 and is pursuing a master's in urban leadership. A seven-time member of the UNLV Dean's Honor List, he was one of three Rebels voted to the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. Last fall, Ajiake was also named UNLV's nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy as his list of community service included participating in the department's Bed Build Day, a unique effort that saw more than 100 beds built by volunteers in conjunction with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to benefit local youth in need.
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Following his final season, Ajiake appeared in the Hula Bowl in Orlando, Florida, and became the fourth Rebel linebacker ever invited to appear in the prestigious East-West Shrine Bowl held at his home facility, Allegiant Stadium, in January. He was the first former Rebel to be selected to play in more than one postseason all-star game since running back Dominique Dorsey in 2004.
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This year's female winner was Wyoming's record-setting cross country runner Katelyn Mitchem. Former UNLV offensive lineman John Greer was the Rebels' other male winner of the award in 2001 while two former Rebel greats – golfer Therese Koelbaek (2010) and tennis player Katarina Malec (2000) -- were the school's Mountain West Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners.
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Players Mentioned
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