March 4, 2008

CHAPEL HILL -- Jeremy Crouthamel, a junior cheerleader from Goldsboro, is the inaugural recipient of the Jason Ray Memorial Spirit Award given by the University of North Carolina Department of Athletics.

The award is named in honor of Jason Ray, former Tar Heel mascot, who was tragically killed last March in a pedestrian/vehicle accident in New Jersey during the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball East Regional.

Carolina Athletics will present the award annually to a member of the band, cheerleaders, dance team or mascots. It will be given to the squad member who best honors Ray's legacy of enthusiastic representation of Carolina, academic achievement and community service.

Jason's parents, Emmitt and Charlotte Ray of Concord, and UNC cheerleading coach Brown Walters will present the award to Crouthamel at halftime of this evening's game between top-ranked North Carolina and Florida State.

"Jeremy exemplifies Jason's giving spirit as well as his unbridled love of the University of North Carolina," says Walters. "He's done so much to help kids in inner-city schools, in foreign lands and in his day-to-day approach to life."

Crouthamel (pronounced CROUTH-ham-ul) is in his third year as a cheerleader. He majors in English and Spanish and is a member of the Teaching Fellows program and plans to attend graduate school in education. Last summer, he taught English to children in an orphanage in Ethiopia. He is a student leader of the Dance Marathon that benefits UNC Children's Hospital and volunteers frequently at the Ronald McDonald house and local elementary schools.

"Jason embodied the very best of what it means to be a Tar Heel," says John Blanchard, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Services and member of the award's selection committee. "Jason was loved by his family and friends and he did so much in his life to make people smile, not just in his role as Rameses. He gave back to his communities and set a wonderful standard in so many areas."

Crouthamel's fellow cheerleaders nominated him for the award.