WESTFIELD, Mass. -- After having an outstanding senior year both athletically and academically for Worcester State men's basketball, Dane Jobst has been named the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. This award is voted on by the eight athletic directors from around the conference.

The MASCAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year has been awarded annually since 1980 to a student-athlete who has excelled in both the classroom and field of play while maintaining at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average through their last year of athletic eligibility. 

“I wanted to take a moment to thank those involved for awarding me with the MASCAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.” said Jobst. “When I received the notification, I was completely surprised as it is such an honor.

“I would like to credit my parents for the remarkable upbringing, the professors I’ve had throughout my undergraduate career along with the guidance from past coaches, Coach (Dave) Lindberg, Coach (Dan) Koen and the rest of the Athletics Department; I recognize them for all of their assistance.”

Jobst was stellar for the Lancers this season, bringing home several awards including MASCAC Player of the Year, D3hoops.com, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All Northeast Region Teams as well as Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-New England honors.

The Athol, Mass. native finished his senior season averaging 16.5 points per game and 13.4 rebounds with a .458 percentage from the field to go along with 25 made three pointers. His rebounds averaged and total boards (348) were ranked third in the NCAA Division III and as one of four nationally to have put up 19 or more double doubles.

Graduating a few weeks ago with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a minor in philosophy and law, Jobst finished with a 3.91 G.P.A and received recognition by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a Capitol One First-Team Academic All-American this past February.

As an active member in the local campus community, Jobst served as the men’s basketball representative in the student-athlete mentor program.  He has also pitched in as a volunteer at the Boys Club in each of the last two years.

Now that he has graduated from Worcester State, Jobst plans to attend Roger Williams to attain a master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in government management. Using the experience he received interning in the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office during this past fall, Jobst hopes to pursue a future occupation working for the federal government. 

“The MASCAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award recognizes student-athletes success in athletics, as well as in the classroom and community which is a core value of Division III,” MASCAC Commissioner Angela Baumann said. “To see our student-athletes excel in all facets of their collegiate career shows the strength of our conference.”