Meghan Root of Syracuse and Marco Salas of Arizona State each will receive a $10,000 Jim McKay Scholarship, awarded by the NCAA to college athletes who demonstrate achievement in sports communication or public relations or hope to contribute to the field.
Root, a forward on the Syracuse women's soccer team, graduated with a degree in public relations this spring. Salas, an offensive lineman on the Arizona State football team, graduated with a degree in sports journalism this spring.
The McKay Scholarship recognizes a student-athlete's outstanding academic achievements and potential to make major contributions to the sports communications industry. The scholarship was created in 2008 to honor pioneer sports journalist Jim McKay, and the recipients are selected by the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee.
Meghan Root
Root posted a 3.95 grade-point average and was one of three team captains during her senior season in the fall of 2021.
During her sophomore season, Root scored a team-high three goals, and she ended her senior season with three goals and one assist. She was named to the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District 1 Team.
In her scholarship application essay, Root says her passion for soccer and writing began in early childhood. Her time at Syracuse helped her realize she could combine those interests into a career.
Root's long-term goal is to become the head of communications for a National Women's Soccer League franchise and help grow the game. To prepare herself, she is enrolling in graduate school at South Florida, where she plans to earn a Master of Business Administration and an additional master's degree.
"This program will give me a deeper knowledge of sport business and firsthand experience in the industry," Root wrote in her application essay. "By harnessing a deeper understanding of sport business, I will prepare myself to create tangible change in professional women's soccer and ensure that the next generation of players won't have to endure the struggles players face today."
Her work in the classroom combined with her experiences as a student-athlete at Syracuse, where the challenges included a coaching change, roster overturn and multiple hip/core surgeries, taught her resiliency that she hopes will help her achieve her goals.
Marco Salas
Salas finished his undergraduate studies with a 3.56 grade-point average and was a walk-on who contributed on the scout team during his football career.
He will continue his postgraduate education on the Arizona State campus in the Master of Sports Law and Business program.
His days as a student-athlete showed how he can make a difference as a scout team member by helping the team's defense prepare for the upcoming game. Salas also gained access to how a collegiate athletics department functions, and it is has inspired him to have the long-term goal of becoming a sports information director.
"College athletics has so many other departments like student-athlete development, game day operations and compliance that interest me," Salas wrote in his McKay Scholarship application essay. "In the media relations office, I'll be like a Swiss army knife working different positions such as writing game previews and recaps, keeping stats for a game, writing feature stories and setting up interviews for the media."
In March, Salas was named as a recipient of the NCAA Ethnic Minority Graduate Scholarship. The NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee awarded Salas with $10,000 to help pay for his postgraduate studies.
