Western Athletic Conference

 

DENVER – Utah Valley women's soccer player Hannah Bruce and men's soccer player Alec Felix have been named the 2019-20 Western Athletic Conference Stan Bates Award winners. Named in honor of former WAC Commissioner Stan Bates, the annual award is given to the WAC's top male and female scholar-athletes and recognizes athletic, academic and community accomplishments. The award includes a $3,000 postgraduate scholarship.

 

Bruce, from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada, earned her bachelor of science in psychology with a 4.00 cumulative grade-point average in December of 2019. A Rhodes Scholarship finalist, she constantly earned Dean's List honors at Utah Valley while also leading the Wolverine women's soccer team to the top of the conference standings. As a sophomore, she was named WAC Defensive Player of the Year, as selected by the coaches, and received First Team All-WAC honors in 2017 and 2019 in addition to second team honors in 2018. 

 

In addition to her work in the Orem community, she attended the 2019 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in Orlando, Fla. and was also selected to and attended the inaugural NCAA APPLE Institute in San Diego, using her academic knowledge in psychology and her experience as a student-athlete to help further discussion and policies regarding substance abuse prevention and health among student-athletes. She continues playing soccer at the professional level as she signed a contract with Puerto Rico Sol based in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and plans on continuing her studies as a graduate student at Oxford.

 

On the pitch, she appeared in 64 matches in her Wolverine career, anchoring one of the top defenses in the WAC. As a sophomore, she was named Defensive Player of the Year and helped UVU make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the WAC Tournament.

 

"Throughout her time as a student-athlete, Hannah always exemplified what it means to be a true civic leader based on her involvement in the community," said UVU director of athletic Dr. Jared Sumsion. "Hannah is a woman of character and epitomizes personal and value-based decision-making. During athletic competition, she always held her head up high—even in times of adversity. This attribute helped her to excel in competition and carried over to the classroom."

 

Felix, from Mapleton, Utah, graduated in December 2019 with his bachelor of science in business management. 

 

Having started 74 of 76 matches for the Wolverines over the course of four seasons, he has played a large part in the rise of Utah Valley men's soccer on the national stage. Earning Academic All-WAC honors all four years at UVU, he earned Honorable Mention All-WAC honors as a sophomore and junior before earning Second Team All-WAC honors as a senior. Off the field, he volunteered with numerous youth soccer programs around Orem and worked with the Hometown Hero Project , helping vets, active duty military, police, and first responders with the home-buying process.

 

"A leader by example both on and off of the field, Alec was not just admired by his coaches and teammates, but he gained the respect of opponents throughout the conference by his commitment to the game and professional demeanor despite the circumstances and outcome of a match," said Utah Valley head men's soccer coach Greg Maas.