CLEVELAND – Western Michigan golf's Julia Champion has been named a Mid-American Conference Distinguished Scholar Athlete, released by the MAC on Monday morning.

The Distinguished Scholar Athlete is an award in its fourth year given to students who have excelled in athletics and academics.  Following each season from the spring sports schedule, any student with a 3.20 GPA and participation in at least 50 percent of the contests was automatically named to the previously announced Academic All-MAC Team from each sport.  Also, first-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence were not eligible for the award.

From the Academic All-MAC Teams, the faculty athletic representatives selected the 'best of the best' of our Academic All-MAC Teams to be honored with Distinguished Scholar Athlete Award for the 2017-18 season.  The number of Distinguished Scholar Athletes from each sport were equivalent to the number of first-team selections or 20% of nominees, whichever was greater.

Champion, who sports a 3.91 GPA in criminal justice, wrapped up her career as one of the best golfers in program history. The Markham, Ontario, native leaves with a program-low career average of 76.61. She is also tied for second-most wins in program history with three. This season she won the EMU Shirley Spork Invitational, tying her career 54-hole tournament low with a 218. Champion also finished as a runner up at the Low Country Invitational. She finished off the season earning Second Team All-MAC honors, the first Bronco to be named All-MAC since Brittney Hamilton was voted First Team All-MAC in 2011.

This is the first MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors for Champion, who was also a three-time Academic All-MAC selection in her career.