Lindy Callahan Scholar-Athletes for Class of 2012 recognized in Jackson
March 22, 2012
Sixteen of Mississippi’s top student-athletes in the Class of 2012 were honored at Lindy Callahan Scholar-Athletes on March 22nd at the Capital Club in downtown Jackson.
Each spring, 16 graduating seniors — one girl and one boy from each of the MHSAA’s eight regional districts — receive a $1,500 scholarship. The students are nominated by their principals and selected by a blue-ribbon committee that considers academic, athletic and extracurricular accomplishments.
The scholar-athlete program was initiated in 1996 by then-MHSAA executive director Ennis Proctor in honor of Lindy Callahan and his wife, Ann. Mr. Callahan served as an athletic director and coach at Gulfport High School from 1953 until his retirement in 1992. Mr. Callahan, a football and baseball standout for Meridian High School and the University of Mississippi, has long been admired for his leadership and dedication to the schools and students of his home state.
A former president of the MHSAA, Mr. Callahan was inducted into the Mississippi Association of Coaches Hall of Fame in 1977, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame in 1995, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) Hall of Fame in 2010.
“Coach Callahan is revered as an athletic director and administrator in this state,” MHSAA executive director Don Hinton said. “He’s in about every hall of fame there is because of his accomplishments and his service. This award is a tremendous honor for our student-athletes.”
“I have many dear memories related to this award,” Mr. Callahan said. “I appreciate my name being associated with such a big honor for the student-athletes of Mississippi. Our time with the MHSAA has been so dear to Ann and myself.”