In recognition of their efforts to excel both on and off the court, Tennessee basketball seniors John Fulkerson and Yves Pons have been selected as two of 30 candidates for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award, it was announced Monday.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their community.
Fulkerson throughout his career has made a notable impact in both the local and university communities since his arrival in Knoxville. He has helped out at a number of team-led community service events, he is the men’s basketball team’s representative on Tennessee’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and he has been heavily involved with his local church.
A specific 24-hour span in which he delivered a historic performance to power Tennessee past sixth-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena on March 3, 2020, illustrated his commitment to enriching the lives of others. The game tipped off at 9:05 p.m. ET, and the Vols didn’t arrive back to campus until after 3 a.m. the following morning. Despite the lack of rest, Fulkerson stuck to a 10 a.m. ET commitment to read to students at a local elementary school as a part of the Read Across America initiative. This—and numerous other outreach efforts—placed Fulkerson on the 2020 SEC Community Service Team.
Pons, meanwhile, had to adjust to life in a new culture, while learning a new language along with everything else that comes with being a student-athlete during his time in Knoxville.
As a freshman, the Fuveau, France, native successfully navigated the rigors of learning English and earned a spot on the SEC’s First Year Academic Honor Roll. Pons has also been named a VOLScholar multiple times during his career—earning at least a 3.0 GPA for a given semester—and he is set to graduate this May with a degree in Sport and Recreation Management.
In the community, Pons has made great strides to give back to the community he has called home the last four years. In addition to his regular appearances with the basketball team at the annual Hoops for Hope event, Pons hosted a virtual French cooking event this past October to benefit Make-A-Wish East Tennessee. The event, which was well attended and received great reviews, raised $3,850.
Lastly, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lifestyle recalibration for so many in 2020, Pons and his wife went into quarantine, where he rekindled his love for a number of hobbies, such as photography (@pons_cam on Instagram), playing the saxophone and gourmet cooking.
The men’s and women’s Senior CLASS Award candidates will be narrowed to two fields of 10 finalists in late February, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will then select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C’s of community, classroom, character and competition.
The award winners will be announced during the 2021 men’s and women’s Final Four’s this spring.
Fulkerson’s full Senior CLASS Award bio can be found HERE, while Pons’ bio can be found HERE.
-UT Athletics
