June 19, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced today that University of Memphis football player Andy Smith is one of three student-athletes who were selected as recipients of the 2008 C-USA Sportsmanship Award.

The conference sportsmanship awards are presented to student-athletes, coaches or teams that perform an individual act of sporting behavior or generally conduct themselves with a high degree of good sportsmanship.

It is the second-straight year one of the C-USA Sportsmanship recipients has come from the Memphis football team. Last year, former deep snapper Rusty Clayton was one of five student-athletes to receive the award.

Along with Smith, Geoffrey Handsfield of East Carolina University and Tara Watts of Rice University were recognized for the 2007-08 season.

Smith is a veteran offensive lineman for the Tigers football team who completed his playing eligibility during the 2007 season. He helped anchor the offense and is one of the vocal leaders on the squad.

Smith also leads by example on and off the field and takes his role as a leader very seriously. The senior has participated in various community service events, including speaking to elementary school children and working youth football camps. On Martin Luther King Day, he joined several other Tiger athletes in volunteering at the National Civil Rights Museum and he often speaks to students at Sea Isle Elementary School. Most recently, Smith helped raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital through the University of Memphis' Up `Til Dawn promotion.

Handsfield has participated in the championship final in all three of his individual events at the last four C-USA Championship Invitationals. He was voted captain of the team as a sophomore and has held that distinction for the last three seasons. The senior holds a 3.97 GPA in physics and has been on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee the last two years. The Morehead City, N.C. native is in charge of all the swim team's community service activities, including working with the Pitt County Latino students, Project ARISE, Pitt County Humane Society, the Special Olympics and the ALS Walk.

Watts just concluded her second season with the Rice women's basketball team. The sophomore serves at a tutor and has volunteered her time to local elementary schools by reading to younger children and speaking to them about being a student-athlete. The British Columbia native has also done similar activities with the local Children's Hospitals. Rice associate head coach Carlos Quintero added "Tara is a positive force to her teammates with both encouraging words and her relentless hard work. She truly cares about everyone just as much as she cares about herself."