FIU student-athletes earn top Sun Belt Conference awards


FIU volleyball player Yarimar Rosa was named the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Quarterback Paul McCall received the SBC Male Sporting Behavior Award.

At an award banquet held on May 19 in Destin Fla., the Sun Belt Conference honored FIU volleyball player Yarimar Rosa with the SBC Female Student-Athlete of the Year award and football player Paul McCall with the SBC Male Sporting Award.

Rosa, an outside hitter, led the Golden Panther volleyball team to a 28-7 record, a conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  She won the SBC Player of the Week award a record five times this season, bringing her career total to record 10. After breaking the school-record for most kills in a three-set match (26) and most kills in a career, Rosa, an international business major, was named the CVU.com Player of the Week on Nov. 17. Her 5.21 kills per set led the nation as did her school-record 657 kills this season.

It is the first time for a player from FIU to be named the SBC Student-Athlete of the Year.

“This is a huge honor for our program and for FIU,” said FIU volleyball head coach Danijela Tomic. “It’s not only what she did this past season, but the impact that she’s had on this league the past three years. It’s hard for me to imagine anybody more deserving than Yarimar. It’s easy to see her stats and rankings, but most people don’t see Yarimar everyday in practice with her teammates and her involvement in community service. She represents what a student-athlete should be and is a dream for any coach. I am fortunate that she is one of my players, part of our program and part of FIU.”

Yarimar Rosa accepts SBC Female Student-Athlete of the Year award accompanied by President-designate Mark Rosenberg and Athletic Director Pete Garcia.
Yarimar Rosa accepted the SBC Female Student-Athlete of the Year award accompanied by FIU President-designate Mark Rosenberg and Athletic Director Pete Garcia.

McCall, who graduated last season with a degree in electrical engineering and is currently pursuing a master’s degree, threw a school record 15 touchdowns this season to lead the Golden Panther football team to a 5-6 record (a four win improvement over a year ago). He was also an Honorable Mention All-SBC selection and threw for 2,332 yards, the third-highest single-season total in FIU history. In the Shula Bowl against Florida Atlantic, McCall became the first Golden Panther to throw for 400 yards as well as a single-game record-tying four touchdowns. 

“Paul is an extraordinary young man,” said FIU head football coach Mario Cristobal. “He embodies everything we would want in a student-athlete. Paul not only shows great leadership skills on the football field, but in the classroom as well. He has been awesome for FIU and has strong passion for the university and the football program and he’s helped it to guide it in the right direction.”

The award winners were nominated by the Sun Belt institutions and a selection of administrators from Sun Belt schools vote on the nominated student-athletes.