KANSAS CITY, Mo. (5/7/04) - Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson collected yet another award as he was presented with the third annual Bayer Advantage® Senior CLASS Award at the Tribute Gala held at the Overland Park Convention Center. Nelson accepted his Senior of the Year trophy while Duke's Alana Beard won the women's award.

Nelson and Beard had both captured the Wooden Award as the nation's top player. Nelson was the recipient for men's basketball and Beard became the winner of the first-ever Wooden Award for women's basketball. Nelson is the consensus National Player of the Year after leading the Hawks to their remarkable 30-2 season and a run to the NCAA Elite 8.

Hawks' coach Phil Martelli, the consensus National Coach of the Year, was on hand to present Nelson with his seventh national Player of the Year award.

Dick Enberg of CBS Sports, honorary chairman of the award, served as Master of Ceremonies. Enberg's comments on the CBS telecast of the 2001 national championship game ignited the inception of the Senior CLASS Award, now sponsored by Bayer.

The Senior CLASS Award - an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School - was launched during the 2001-2002 college basketball season in response to the recent trend of college basketball players leaving college early to turn professional. The Tribute Gala was hosted by the Pride of Kansas City Foundation, a non-profit organization formed in 2003.