Providence College Athletics

Mark Rotella Earns Postgraduate Scholarship From The NCAA

6/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse

June 29, 2005

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Mark Rotella (Smithtown, N.Y.) a four-year member of the Providence College men's lacrosse team and 2005 PC graduate was awarded one of 29 postgraduate scholarships given to male student-athletes who competed in spring sports at the collegiate level among each of the NCAA Division I, II and III institutions.

Overall, the NCAA has awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $7,500 each to 29 men and 29 women who participated in spring sports, which include baseball, equestrian, men's and women's golf, men's and women's lacrosse, women's rowing, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's outdoor track and field, men's volleyball and women's water polo. Rotella was one of two lacrosse players on the men's side to earn a postgraduate scholarship.

In addition to the spring sport honorees, the NCAA also awarded 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and winter sports in which the NCAA conducts championships or is an emerging sport, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.

Rotella was a role model student and an athlete at Providence College. He became the first lacrosse player in Providence College history to earn Academic All-America honors as a member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Men's At-Large University Division Third Team. For the second-consecutive year, Rotella was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I At-Large First Team. He also was selected to the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Scholar-Athlete Team and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) All-Academic Team.

Rotella completed his collegiate lacrosse career with the Friars, having eclipsed the 500-win mark as Providence's primary face-off man. During his four-year career with the Friars, Rotella won 508-of-898 face-offs for a career winning percentage of 56.6-percent. In 2005, he won 143-of-236 face-off opportunities for a winning percentage of 60.6-percent. He also picked up a team-best 85 groundballs. His 85 groundballs marked a personal single-season career high.

Providence finished the season with an 8-8 overall record (7-1 MAAC) and won the MAAC Regular-Season League crown for just the second time in program history. During Rotella's career, the Friars qualified for the MAAC Tournament four consecutive seasons. The Friars captured the league's tournament crown in 2004 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Rotella graduated from Providence College on Sunday, May 15 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. A native of Smithtown, N.Y., he is the son of Frank and Liz Rotella.

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