June 4, 2004

The University of Texas - Pan American men's basketball player Eric Montalvo (La Joya, TX/La Joya H.S.) was recently selected as a recipient of the NCAA's 2004 Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA) Sportsmanship Award. Montalvo is one of two NCAA student-athletes to be honored with the award.

"I was very surprised," said Montalvo when first hearing about the award. "I really believe this shows that I get a lot of respect from my teammates, university, opponents and the NCAA in order to have achieved this honor."

The Broncs' junior guard will be honored at a reception on June 13th along with the other alliance winners in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Convention in Dallas, TX.

The CTSA is the single largest coalition of professional, collegiate, high school and Olympic athletics organization in the nation and focuses on character in sport. Among the winners this year include Dallas Cowboys' strong safety Darren Woodson and Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan.

"Eric Montalvo is most deserving of this very prestigious national award. His achievement brings outstanding recognition by the NCAA to Eric, our athletic department and the University of Texas - Pan American. Eric will be a tremendous representative of our athletic department and university," said Director of Athletics William J. Weidner.