Butler's Sippola Named Horizon League Male Scholar-Athlete of the Month

INDIANAPOLIS – Soccer standout Ben Sippola of Butler has been named Horizon League Male Scholar Athlete of the Month for September.

Sippola, a senior midfielder for the No. 9 Bulldogs, is leading the team in goals (6), assists (5) and points (17). He was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Kentucky Invitational, leading the tournament in scoring. After becoming just the ninth player in Butler men’s soccer history to record a hat trick on Sept. 10, Sippola earned Horizon League Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Week honors on Sept. 13.

Sippola is tied for first in the Horizon League in assists and is second in total points and goals. In the NCAA rankings, Sippola is 15th in points, 29th in goals and 22nd in assists. Butler, the nation’s lone undefeated and untied team, is off to a school-record 10-0-0 start.

An English Literature major, Sippola holds a 3.72 grade-point average. He was named to the 2009 Horizon League Academic All-League Team as well as the 2009-10 Horizon League Academic Honor Roll. Sippola was also a member of the 2009-10 NSCAA Scholar All-North/Central Region Team and was named to the 2009-10 Butler Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

The Horizon League instituted the Scholar-Athlete of the Month awards as a way to recognize outstanding academic and athletic achievement by its student-athletes. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better (on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution, passed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours and perform well during the month’s competition. Winners are selected by the League’s faculty athletics representatives, from nominations provided by sports information directors.