Jeff Zurcher Named College Football Scholar-Athlete of the Week: University of Kentucky senior free safety Jeff Zurcher has been named College Football Scholar-Athlete of the Week by Burger King and in his honor, Burger King will make a $10,000 donation to the general scholarship fund of the university.
The official presentation will be at the beginning of halftime of Saturday’s game against Mississippi State. David Griffin, an area representative for Burger King, will make the presentation. Accepting on behalf of the university will be UK President Charles Wethington Jr. and Zurcher’s family, parents Steve and Lauretta Zurcher and brother Brett.
Zurcher is being honored for his combination of athletic ability, academic achievement, and community service. He graduated last May with a 4.0 grade point average and a double major in English and advertising. This fall, Jeff began work on his master’s degree in diplomacy from UK’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.
On the field, Zurcher is the starting free safety for the Wildcats and leads the team in tackles with 58 stops. He also has three tackles for loss, one quarterback sack, three pass breakups, and has caused one fumble this season.
Zurcher has participated in UK’s “Cats’ Cause” community service program. He has been a guest speaker at area schools, a helper at the UK Hospital “Breakfast With Santa,” and has participated in UK’s annual “Schoolhouse Rock” academic pep rally for area fourth- and fifth-grade students. He is also active in UK’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Additional academic honors won by Zurcher include: 1998 National Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, which carries an $18,000 scholarship for Zurcher’s post-graduate studies; 1998 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Week by Nationwide Insurance and Jefferson-Pilot Sports; currently a nominee for the GTE Academic All-America Team; member of a five-student UK team that designed an advertising campaign that reached the finals of the American Advertising Federation’s national collegiate contest; and 1997 nominee for the Rhodes Scholarship.
This is the fourth year of Burger King’s college football scholarship program and by the end of the 1998 season, Burger King will have donated approximately $4.3 million to college and universities nationwide.
No Live Television for the Vanderbilt Game: The Vanderbilt at Kentucky football game on Nov. 14 was not selected by the television networks for live telecast. Therefore, game time remains at 1:30 p.m. EST.
There will be a delayed telecast of the game on the UKTV Network.
