ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Former University of New Mexico men’s soccer player James Rogers was named one of 24 national semifinalists for the Wooden Citizenship Cup on Monday by Athletes for a Better World.
The Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup is presented to two distinguished athletes from any sport – one intercollegiate and one professional – that best display character, teamwork, and citizenship, the attributes Athletes for a Better World deems central to transforming individuals, sport, and society. The award establishes the recipients as athletes of excellence both on and off the field, role models both as performers and persons, the most important and distinctive honor athletes can achieve.
The Wooden Cup is open to all college athletes, all divisions, all sports. For this reason, the Wooden Cup is regarded as the highest award in college sports.
Athletes for a Better World also chose its finalists for the award, however, and Rogers was not one of the five selected. Still, it remains a tremendous honor for one of the top players in program history, and he was the only men’s soccer player from Conference USA to be honored.
Rogers finished his career in the top 10 in Lobo history in points (eighth, 64), goals (eighth, 22), assists (fourth, 20), shots (fourth, 179) and starts (eighth, 74). He is hoping to be selected in the second day of the MLS SuperDraft scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Rogers wasn’t just chosen for his skill on the pitch, however, as he was also an excellent student. In 2013 he was named NSCAA Scholar All-Region and was a two-time Academic All-District honoree. Perhaps most importantly, though, was his work in the community. He devoted countless hours volunteering with different organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Catholic Charities and the American Youth Soccer Organization. Due to his reluctance to discuss his volunteer work, it was impossible to know the exact number of hours he spent in the community, but it was by far the most on the team.