CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, December 11, 2003
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) has named Hudson Valley Community College sophomore running back Emmanuel Marc (Spring Valley, NY/Spring Valley High School) as its 2003 Offensive Player of the Year.
Marc, who also was named the Northeast Football Conference's Offensive Player of the Year, is the first player from a northeast school to win the national award.
"This is the greatest honor at this level," Marc said. "It's overwhelming. I want to think my teammates and my coaches for helping me. This is their award too."
Marc rewrote the Hudson Valley record book during the last two seasons. He led the NJCAA with 2,038 rushing yards in 10 games this season. He also scored 18 touchdowns. For his career, Marc rushed for 3,273 yards and 30 touchdowns.
"We're excited for Manny," Hudson Valley Head Coach Bob Jojo said. "This award is not only for him but for the entire team, and is a testament to the year that we had."
Hudson Valley finished the year ranked 15th in the final NJCAA poll with an 8-2 record. In only their second bowl game in school history, the Vikings fell to Ellsworth Community College, 29-23 in triple overtime, at The Graphic Edge Bowl in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
This is the 14th year that the NJCAA has recognized a national Player of the Year and the fourth year that the award has been separated for an offensive and a defensive player. This year's NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year is Larry Kendrick of Pearl River (MS) Community College.
Hudson Valley Community College, located in Troy, offers more than 50 degree and certificate programs in four academic divisions; Business; Engineering and Industrial Technologies; Health Sciences; and Liberal Arts and Sciences. One of 30 community colleges in the State University of New York system, Hudson Valley has an enrollment of more than 11,000 students each year.