FIU alumnus Mike Lowell ’97 helped the Boston Red Sox defeat the Colorado Rockies to capture the 2007 World Series Championship. It is the team’s second World Series title in four years.

Lowell capped a career season with the Red Sox with a gritty performance in the World Series, earning World Series MVP honors and silencing skeptics who questioned whether he could bounce back from a subpar year in 2005.

Just 10 years ago, the FIU alumnus was playing baseball for the Golden Panthers. Drafted by the New York Yankees in 1995, Lowell stayed at FIU to finish his studies after signing with the Yankees in the summer of ‘95. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance two years later and left FIU with a .353 batting average (fifth-best in school history) and Academic All American honors.

Lowell’s ascent to the sport’s biggest stage hasn’t come without its setbacks. After the Yankees traded him to the Florida Marlins in 1999, a routine team physical turned up testicular cancer. Lowell underwent surgery and radiation in battling the disease and returned to the team in May ’99. Slowly but surely, he became one of their steadiest players. When the team made its improbable run to the Series title in 2003, Lowell was an integral part of the team’s success.

And then came 2005, the worst year of his career. Just two years after hitting 32 homers and driving in 105 runs, Lowell managed only eight homers and 58 runs. With one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, the Marlins unloaded Lowell after his subpar year in a trade to Boston along with ace pitcher Josh Beckett. The rest is history. Lowell had a career season with the Red Sox in 2007 and has since re-signed with the team. He had a team-high 120 RBIs, hit 21 home runs and batted a personal-best .324.

“It’s been a thrill,” said Lowell in an interview with Amy K. Nelson of ESPN.com. “It’s been a tremendous ride this whole year [2007], and to end it this way is extra special.”

FIU is so proud of this successful alumnus that we featuring him in our ad campaign in The Miami Herald. To view the ad, which ran November, 16 in the The Miami Herald, please click here to download a PDF file.

You may download Adobe Acrobat Reader from here if needed to view the file.