Aaron Thomas Named 2016 Southland Conference McCarty Award Winner
5/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
FRISCO, Texas - Stephen F. Austin football wide receiver Aaron Thomas has been named the 2016 Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Award recipient, released today by the conference office. Thomas has been named the male award winner while Houston Baptist women's basketball player Anna Strickland is the female recipient.
The annual award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who exhibit outstanding qualities in citizenship, sportsmanship, leadership and community service. This year's Steve McCarty Citizenship Award winners will be honored at the Southland Honors Ceremony May 24 at the Frisco Westin Stonebriar Hotel.
Thomas was a four year letterwinner on the SFA football team, going from a walk-on to one of the leading receivers the past three seasons. A three year starter at wide receiver for the Lumberjacks, Thomas finished with 141 catches for 1,955 yards and 11 touchdowns. Thomas registered a pair of 700-yard receiving seasons in 2013 and 2014 and holds the Lumberjack single-game receiving record with 242 receiving yards against Prairie View A&M.
A two-time All-Southland Conference honorable mention selection, Thomas graduated SFA in three-and-a-half years with a degree in international business and is pursuing his MBA with a 3.6 GPA in graduate school. A member of the Commissioner's Honor Roll and a two-time SLC All-Academic Team honoree, Thomas has been a regular on the SFA Dean's List, spending eight semesters on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and has made the President's List.
Thomas' passion in his faith has led him to volunteering numerous hours at his church. He has led mission trips to Brazil and Mexico during his holiday break to help those in need. During his freshman year, he organized a weekly Bible study, which has grown from six participants to more than 150 during his four years. In the fall of 2013, Thomas was selected as the keynote speaker for the nationwide campus ministry AFTERDARK, a program designed to help college students relate to one another from all walks of life, and shared his story in front of more than 1,500 SFA students.
A nominee of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, Thomas has worked with Kitale, a non-profit foundation in Kenya, to help bring new schools, health clinics and clean water to the area. Through the process, he organized countless fundraisers through the church to help better the lives of those in need.
The award is named for the former Stephen F. Austin athletic director, who served at the school for 21 years, including the last 15 as athletic director. McCarty, an Alto, Texas, native, retired from SFA in 2005 and is a two-time graduate of the university. A former member of the SFA Board of Regents, including serving as the chair for two seasons, he is also a member of the SFA Alumni Association's "Football Coaches Hall of Honor" and was inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor in 2006.
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