Nov. 7, 2005

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - East Carolina junior Robert Lee was one of 20 semifinalists named to the 2005 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, which is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Palm Beach County Sports Institute announced today.

Among the 20 kickers named are 2004 semifinalists, Mason Crosby from Colorado, Darren McCaleb from Southern Mississippi, Brandon Pace from Virginia Tech, Reagan Schneider from Texas-El Paso (UTEP) and Alexis Serna from Oregon State.

The 2005 Lou Groza Semifinalists:
Mike Barrow (Idaho), Dan Beardall (Utah), Kenny Byrd (New Mexico), Brandon Coutu (Georgia), Mason Crosby (Colorado), Jad Deam (Clemson), John Deraney (N.C. State), Brad DeVault (Tulsa), Connor Hughes (Virginia), Josh Huston (Ohio State), Robert Lee (East Carolina), Darren McCaleb (Southern Miss), Brandon Pace (Virginia Tech), Garrett Rivas (Michigan), Jason Robbins (Toledo), Kyle Schilcher (Iowa), Reagan Schneider (UTEP), Alexis Serna (Oregon State), Clint Stitser (Fresno State) and Sam Swank (Wake Forest).

The Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award recognizes the top place-kicker in NCAA Division I-A football. Voters for the award include Division I-A head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters, conference representatives, professional kickers and previous Groza Award finalists.

The three finalists for the Lou Groza Award are announced on Monday, November 21 and are honored at the 14th Annual Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Dinner on Tuesday, December 6 at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott. The 2005 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award winner is announced on Thursday, December 8 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Award Show in Orlando, Florida.

The award, now in its 14th year, is named for NFL Hall-of-Fame kicker Lou Groza, who played 21 seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Groza won four NFL championships with Cleveland and was named NFL Player of the Year in 1954. Nicknamed "The Toe," Groza was one of the first people to truly make kicking an art form, and he helped usher in to football the idea that a player could be used exclusively for kicking.

For more information on the 20 Semifinalists, including complete statistics, please visit http://www.lougrozaaward.com/Candidates/index.htm.

The Lou Groza Award is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl and is sponsored by BankAtlantic, Clipper Corporate Apparel and Promotions, Continental Airlines, Crooks Printing Services, ESPN Radio 760, ESPN Regional Television, Florida Atlantic University Athletics, Florida Coca-Cola Bottling Company, JBS Destination Solutions, John F. Romano, P.A., KaBloom, Palm Beach Kennel Club, Parallax Productions, Rooney's Public House, Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, Team A-fin-ity Sportfishing, The Breakers, The Palm Beach Post and WPEC News-12.

For more information regarding the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award, including banquet, hotel and ticket information, please contact the Palm Beach County Sports Institute at (561) 233-3180 or visit www.lougrozaaward.com.