Michigan’s Justin Glanda Named Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipient

ROSEMONT, Ill. – As the Big Ten continues its celebration for the 101^st class of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, Michigan announced that Nicole Elmblad from the women’s basketball team and Justin Glanda of the men’s swimming and diving squad have been named the Wolverines’ 2014-15 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients.

The Big Ten, the nation’s oldest collegiate conference, commemorates the 101st anniversary of a very unique tradition – the Big Ten Medal of Honor. The conference’s most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had “attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work.” Big Ten schools currently feature almost 9,500 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 100 years of the Medal of Honor, almost 1,400 student-athletes have earned this distinction.

A two-time captain and starter for the Wolverines, Elmblad was a two-time Academic All-American, three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. Elmblad will complete her degree in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience at the end of this month and plans to attend medical school. Elmblad is just the second Michigan women’s basketball player to earn the award.

On the court, Elmblad started all 35 games for the Maize and Blue this season, averaging 7.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. She was named to the WNIT All-Tournament Team and will leave Michigan as the leader in games played with 133. Her class holds the Michigan record for wins in a career (82) and is the only class to record at least 20 wins in all four seasons.

Glanda carries a 4.0 grade point average, and will graduate in May with a business administration degree from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and twice earned College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America accolades.

While succeeding in the classroom, Glanda also excelled in the water as a senior captain for the Wolverines. During his four-year career, he helped the men’s team win four consecutive Big Ten Championships and record four consecutive top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships, including the 2013 national title. Glanda graduates as a four-time NCAA All-American and four-time Big Ten champion. He is the 14th men’s swimmer to receive the Big Ten Medal of Honor and the third in the past four years.

Courtesy: Big Ten Conference