Freeland, Mich. -- Commissioner Penny Allen-Cook announced today that Calvin University's Jacob Lyon has been selected as the recipient of the 2020 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association's Albert L. Deal Male Scholar-Athlete Award winner.

The Albert L. Deal Male Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes a senior male student-athlete from an MIAA member college who has excelled in academics and athletics while displaying outstanding leadership qualities. The award is named in honor of Albert L. Deal, who served as MIAA commissioner from 1971 to 1991.

The MIAA had 7 outstanding nominations for this award. "Jacob has an amazing resume of academic, community service, and athletic accolades. He is a strong representative for both his alma mater and the MIAA," said Allen-Cook. 

Jacob Lyon hails from Holt, Michigan. He is a graduate of Lansing Christian High School. At Calvin, Lyon has been a four-year standout on the men's soccer team.

In the classroom, Lyon was an eight-time member of the Calvin Dean's List and a regular member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. He graduated from Calvin this past May with a major in biochemistry while compiling a grade point average of 3.75. This past December, he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team while also landing a spot on the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team.

On the pitch, Lyon was a three-year starter as a midfielder. During his career, he was a three-time First Team All-MIAA selection, helping Calvin reach the national championship final twice and the national semifinals three times. As a junior, he was named to the 2018 D3soccer.com All-America First Team and to the United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region First Team in both 2018 and 2019.

Over his four-year career, Lyon helped the Calvin men's soccer program produce an overall won-loss record of 89-8-2 that included four MIAA regular-season titles, four MIAA Tournament crowns and four trips to the NCAA III Tournament.

During his time at Calvin, he has been heavily invested in service work. He has been a member of Calvin’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). In Grand Rapids, he has volunteered with the Miracle League T-Ball program and as an English tutor with Schools of Hope. In the greater Lansing area, he has been a patient escort at Sparrow Hospital, a volunteer at His Healing Hands Medical Clinic and a volunteer at the Michigan State University Physical Therapy Clinic. He has also found time to volunteer hours cleaning up the grounds at the (Lansing) Fenner Nature Center and Lansing City Rescue Mission.

Lyon will attend medical school at Michigan State University next fall.

He is the son of Dave and Erin Lyon.

Also nominated for the award are:

Grant Brettnacher, Trine University

Jarod Bush, Olivet College

Mason Dekker, Hope College

Tyler Kimbrell, Albion College

Steven Sowa, Alma College

Grant Stille, Kalamazoo College