Red Wolves - IU East

School first. Golf second.

It's a philosophy that drove Indiana University East senior Mark Bevins (Hollansburg, Ohio/Tri-Village High School) to become the school's first two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honoree.

Bevins is one of 91 men's golf Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes for the 2010 season, the NAIA recently announced.

A student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must achieve a junior academic status to qualify for this honor.

"School first and golf second. I lived with that motto throughout school," said Bevins, who completed his IU East golf career last month.

"I worked really hard at keeping up my grades. It wasn't an easy thing with golf and working 32 hours a week."

Bevins also works at the Wal-Mart in Greenville, Ohio.

How did Bevins juggle all three responsibilities?

"I made sure I had homework done before we left for meets or matches and went to practices," he said. "I made sure I had it done so I could focus on golf."

He advised younger Red Wolves to avoid waiting until the last minute to complete assignments - even though he didn't follow his own advice on a few occasions.

"Waiting until the last minute worked for me," he joked, "but I would not recommend it."

Bevins is an education major and plans to become a social studies teacher. He plans to fulfill his student teaching requirement during the fall semester.

Bevins concluded his Red Wolves golf career as one of the most decorated athletes in IU East's NAIA history.

He was medalist at the 2008 Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament to lead the Red Wolves to the team title.

It was IU East's first KIAC title in any sport. Bevins became the first IU East athlete to win a KIAC Player of the Year honor in any sport.

Bevins and men's basketball player Brent Burris are IU East's only three-time Academic All-KIAC honorees.

He is IU East's only two-time Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete honoree. '

Click here to view the complete list of Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete