– UofL returns fire in the billboard wars and 4 basketball players are given high honors.

Today the University of Louisville fans fired a return shot in the summer billboard wars. The #LexingtonIsForTheBirds billboard is up. You can see the billboard on the right side of Interstate 64 just before exit 58 in Frankfort Ky. It was announced this morning by a tweet sent out from @BigTimeYurts. No doubt Louisville fans will flock to the spot to see their achievement. I attempted to be the first one out there this morning but was beat to the punch by another passionate fan.

In 53 days the annual Battle of the Bluegrass will take place on the football field, but today the battle rages on high above interstate 64.

Senior Kyle Kuric and juniors Mike Marra, Peyton Siva and Stephan Van Treese were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches 2011-12 Honors Court as announced Tuesday by the NABC. The award recognizes those collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2011-12 season. The NABC Honors Court is an annual academic award that recognizes junior and senior college basketball players who have completed at least one full year at their school with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.

I’m very happy to see these guys preparing themselves for life after basketball. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts student-athletes possess off the court, and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. In the ever changing environment of college basketball it’s good to see that our program still has the traditional model of the student athlete. And it is great to see them be honored for being student athletes. It should be mentioned that Louisville is the top school for players receiving this honor in the Big East.

Kudos to these guys for their hard work and to the Louisville coaching staff for running a program that still believes in the importance of classroom work.

(Courtesy UofL Sports)