NEW YORK - Georgetown men’s soccer junior Dante Polvara was named the BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the league announced on Thursday. Polvara will receive a $4,000 scholarship, which may be applied to graduate or professional studies. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee.
 
A finance major, Polvara boasted a 3.469 GPA and was a United Soccer Coaches First Team Scholar All-American, as well as being named First Team Scholar All-South Region by the organization.
 
Polvara is the second men’s scholar-athlete from Georgetown, joining former track and field member Steve Holman, who won in 1992. Polvara is the 20th member of a men’s or women’s soccer squad to earn the prestigious honor. Alongside fellow Hoya Maggie Danahue, announced as the 2022 BIG EAST Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Thursday, the duo becomes the third and fourth Georgetown student-athletes to claim the award and it marks just the sixth time in league history that one school has swept the award.
 
The 2021 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and a All-BIG EAST First Team selection, Polvara started all 22 games for the Hoyas and led the team in scoring with seven goals and six assists for 20 points.
 
In January, the midfielder became the fifth BIG EAST men’s soccer student-athlete and first Georgetown men’s soccer player to garner the Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy. The Trophy is awarded to the top male and female collegiate soccer players in the nation.
 
The junior later signed a professional contract with Aberdeen F.C. of the Scottish Premiership in January. Recently, he was nominated for a 2022 ESPY in the Best College Athlete, Men's Sports category and was also named a BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award winner.
 
The Conference also announced the male winners of the 2021-22 BIG EAST Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarships. Each institutional winner receives $2,000 toward graduate studies.
 
2021-22 BIG EAST Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Awards
 

School	Name, Sport(s)
Butler	Barry Keane, Cross Country
Creighton	Alan Roden, Baseball
DePaul	Vito Tonejc, Tennis
Georgetown	Dante Polvara, Soccer
Marquette	Daniel Bendel, Outdoor Track & Field
Providence	Marcelo Rocha, Cross Country
St. John’s	Brandon Knapp, Soccer
Seton Hall	Luca Dahn, Soccer
Villanova	Matthew Campbell, Lacrosse

 
BIG EAST Male Scholar-Athletes Of The Year
 

Year	Name, School, Sport
1985	Joey David, Pittsburgh, Basketball
1986	John Prior, Connecticut, Track & Field
1987	Harold Jensen, Villanova, Basketball
1988	Dave Echeverria, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1989	Chris Craft, Villanova, Swimming & Diving
1990	Pat O’Kelly, Seton Hall, Soccer
1991	David Honor, St. John’s, Baseball
1992	Steve Holman, Georgetown, Track & Field
1993	Hector Zamora, Seton Hall, Soccer
1994	Sebastien Goulet, Swimming, Syracuse
1995	Kevin Lyles, Seton Hall, Track & Field
1996	Gil Kovalski, Miami, Tennis
1997	Christian Fogarazzo, St. John’s, Track & Field
1998	Errol Williams, Notre Dame, Track & Field
1999	Angelo Ciminiello, Providence, Baseball
2000	Scott VanEpps, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2001	Chris Hamblin, Boston College, Soccer
2002	Gregory Strohmann, Seton Hall, Soccer
2003	Casey Schmidt, Boston College, Soccer
2004	Chris Wingert, St. John’s, Soccer
2005	Guy Melamed, Boston College, Soccer
2006	Trevor O’Grady, Rutgers, Track & Field
2007	Drew Eckman, Villanova, Track & Field
2008	Jeremy Stultz, Pittsburgh, Swimming & Diving
2009	Zak Boggs, USF, Soccer
2010	Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, Soccer
2011	Brian Karalunas, Villanova, Lacrosse
2012	Eric Finan, Cincinnati, Cross Country/Track & Field
2013	Grant Van De Casteele, Notre Dame, Soccer
2014	Charles Lyon, Marquette, Soccer
2015	Sam McEntee, Villanova, Cross Country/Track & Field
2016	Thomas Hackimer, St. John’s, Baseball
2017	David Goldsmith, Butler, Soccer
2018	Eric Dick, Butler, Soccer
2019	Sven Koenig, Creighton, Soccer
2021	Marcelo Rocha, Providence, Track & Field
2022	Dante Polvara, Georgetown, Men’s Soccer

 
Note: In 2019-20, the BIG EAST did not present the Male or Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.