Pat McAfee

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia senior kicker Pat McAfee has been named to the 2008 Ray Guy Award Watch List, which identifies the nation's top collegiate punter. The watch list, which includes three BIG EAST Conference players, was announced by the Greater Augusta Sports Council.

This year’s watch list is headed up by Cincinnati Bearcat punter Kevin Huber, the only returning Top-3 finalist for the 2007 Ray Guy Award.

The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in early-November. The national voting body will then vote for the top three finalists, and ultimately the winner. The top three finalists will be announced in late–November, and the winner of the Ray Guy Award, which is affiliated with the National College Football Awards Association, will be presented live on ESPN during the ESPNU-Home Depot College Football Awards Show on December 11, 2008.

McAfee is the Mountaineers punter for the third-straight season and is WVU’s field goal kicker and handles the kickoffs for the fourth-straight year. He is averaging 43.3 yards per punt on his punts this season with a long of 64 yards. He has three punts of more than 50 yards and has kicked four punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Last season, McAfee finished with 46 punts for 1,962 yards, an average of 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 71 yards.

The award’s namesake, Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football, is excited about this year’s prospects. “The award is becoming more competitive every year. And to me that means teams are placing a higher degree of importance on the role of the punter. It’s a real honor to be associated with such a fine group of individuals who place more importance on the success of their team, than their own achievements.”

About the Ray Guy Award
The Greater Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award to honor Thomson, Georgia-native and College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ray Guy, arguably the greatest punter to play football. The award was first presented in 2000. The Ray Guy Award is determined by a national selection committee made up of sports writers, college football coaches, sports information directors, and past Ray Guy Award winners. Among the statistics used to identify the Ray Guy Award winner are total yardage punted, number of times a punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, net average, average returned yardage, and percentage of punts not returned. It is also of importance for the award winner to display team leadership, self-discipline, and to have a positive impact on the team’s success.

About the Greater Augusta Sports Council
The Greater Augusta Sports Council (GASC) is a 501-c-3 not-for-profit organization established in 1992 to market the Augusta-area as a major amateur sports destination. Annually, the organization attracts, supports, and creates numerous competitions and activities, at all levels of participation.

About the National College Football Awards Association
The National College Football Awards Association was founded in 1997 as a coalition of major collegiate football awards. The purpose of the NCFAA is to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of college football’s various awards. The NCFAA also encourages professionalism and the highest standards possible for administration of college football awards and the selection of their winners.