The Youngstown State University Department of Intercollegiate
Athletics is proud to announce the development of the Elliott L.
Giles Scholarship to enhance the YSU Athletics Scholarship
Fund.
The scholarship endowment will be awarded starting with the
2012-13 academic year.
Director of Athletic Development Joe Cassese said Giles has
always supported Youngstown State football in anyway possible. This
scholarship is just another example of how special this community
is to Giles, Cassese said.
"Those of us who love and follow Youngstown State Football
remember Elliott Giles the playmaker on the football field,"
Cassese said. "It's great to see Elliott making plays for his
community and Youngstown State Athletics in a way that will forever
positively impact our student-athletes."
Giles, a native of Miami, Fla., came to Youngstown State in 1997
after spending a season at Idaho State. At YSU, he spent three
years playing for Head Coach Jim Tressel. During his senior season
in 1999, Giles helped lead the Penguins to the National
Championship Game while leading the team with 62 receptions for
1,301 yards and eight touchdowns. He finished his career with 73
receptions for 1,477 yards and nine scores. Against Montana in the
first round, he caught six passes for a school-record 214 yards,
including an 82-yarder for a touchdown. On six occasions in 1999,
he had at least 100 yards receiving.
After his collegiate career, Giles impacted the youth of the
community by starting Y2 Sports, a non-profit organization centered
on the youth of Youngstown to help battle the worldwide dilemma of
childhood obesity while building young men and women of character.
Giles also founded The Youngstown Youth Flag Football
Association, a NFL sanctioned flag football league which has
impacted over 2,000 children from the Tri-County area since its
inaugural season in 2007.
This scholarship will be awarded annually to a minority
student-athlete with a GPA of 2.5 or above.
"It is truly humbling to have the opportunity to give back to
the university that has done so much for me and my family," Giles
said.
This fall, Giles has joined Chad Krispinsky on the
myvalleysports.com broadcast of Penguin home games.
For more information on how to endow an athletic scholarship at
Youngstown State University, contact Cassese at (330) 941-2756 or
jcassese@ysu.edu.
