PROVO, Utah – BYU cross country and track athlete Olivia Hoj has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for her academic and athletic achievement.
The NCAA awards up to 126 postgraduate scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
The one-time non-renewable NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships of $10,000 are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season there are 21 scholarships available for men and 21 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
“I’m grateful and humbled to be chosen as a recipient of the NCAA post graduate scholarship and am excited to continue at BYU and pursue my master’s degree in public administration,” Hoj said. “I’m so thankful for the support I have received throughout my time as an undergraduate student athlete from athletic administration, coaches, teammates, family, professors, and friends who helped push me to excel both athletically and academically. I know I owe my success in both areas to the many people who have gone out of their way to help mentor and support me. I can’t thank the NCAA and BYU enough for the incredible opportunities they have provided for me up until this point and for the support I will receive in graduate school and my future career.”
Hoj is a four-year letterwinner in cross country and has helped the Cougars to back-to-back West Coast Conference titles and two-straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, including a second-place finish in 2019. She has earned All-WCC first-team honors twice and second-team honors once. Hoj is also a three-time All-Mountain Region honoree.
In addition to her athletic accolades, Hoj has collected numerous academic honors. She has been named USFTCCCA All-Academic and Academic All-WCC three times (2017, 2018, 2019) while also earning Gold status on the WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times (2017, 2018, 2019).
In track, Hoj is a distance runner and is fourth all-time at BYU in the indoor 3,000m. She has one more season of eligibility for indoor track and two for outdoor. She has earned Academic All-USTFCCCA three times.
“Olivia is so deserving of this NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship,” BYU associate director of cross country and track and field Diljeet Taylor said. “Her exemplary efforts in the classroom and in the sport of cross country and track are inspiring. She has been a joy to coach and is a lifeline to our program. I am extremely proud of her accolades but even more proud of the woman I have watched her become over the last four years.”
Hoj finished her undergraduate degree in Public Health in April 2020 and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration.
For more information about the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship program, visit NCAA.org.