CHICAGO, Ill. – The Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award's selection committee announced Monday Slippery Rock University senior kicking specialist #C.J. Bahr# has been named as a national finalist for the 2010 award.

The announcement marks the second consecutive year in which Bahr has been included in the final group of 10 candidates for the award presented to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III or NAIA placekicker who excels on the football field and in the community.

The 2010 winner will be announced December 15 and will be honored February 21, 2011, at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

The school of the Mitchell Award winner receives scholarship funds.

“It really means a lot to me that the committee selected me as a finalist two years in a row,” Bahr said in learning of the honor, “because it recognizes me for not only my on-field performance but also my community service. I am really proud of what I have done in both of those areas, so it's nice to be recognized for that.”

“We are extremely proud of C.J. and happy for him that he's been selected as a Mitchell Award finalist for the second straight year,” Rock Head Football Coach George Mihalik said. “This is well-deserved recognition of C.J. and the amount of hard work he's put into not only becoming one of the best kickers in the nation but also being an active participant in community and campus activities.”

“C.J. is an extremely dedicated and caring person, very motivated and very driven,” Rock Special Teams Coordinator Jason Makrinos said. “He missed some of our team meetings and film sessions in order to take care of his community work and sport management projects, but he would come in on his own to watch film and go over what he missed. That's the kind of young man he is, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to be associated with him this year.”

A native of Boalsburg and graduate of State College High School, Bahr was The Rock's No. 2 scorer last fall with 55 points on a 10-of-13 efficiency in field goal attempts and a 25-of-27 accuracy on extra points.

The son of former NFL kicker Chris Bahr and nephew of former NFL kicker Matt Bahr, C.J. is currently ranked third among NFL draft-eligible college-divisions kickers and 25th among all draft-eligible collegiate kickers by cbssports.com.

“If I get the opportunity for a tryout with an NFL team, I will take it, and I will continue to train to be ready in case it happens,” Bahr said. “But realistically I think it's best I prepare for life outside of football.”

Bahr said he is currently weighing options for pursuing an MBA degree or attending law school following graduation from SRU in May 2011.

On the football field, Bahr earned first-team Daktronics Inc. All-Super Region honors last week after being named to first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division honors for the second straight season. He was a third-team Don Hansen's Football Gazette all-region selection in 2009.

Bahr holds SRU records for career field goals (35), single-season extra points (50 as a freshman in 2007) and consecutive extra points made (65). He ranks second in career extra points (135) and fifth in career points (242).

“His numbers would be higher if it were not for kicks that got blocked through no fault of C.J.,” Makrinos said. “He has the highest trajectory on his kicks of anyone I've ever been around, so the blocks came from the lack of blocking upfront more than from anything he did or did not do.”

“It pretty much goes without saying,” Mihalik said. “It will be very difficult for us to replace the productivity he's given us the last four seasons.”

Away from the football field, Bahr served as the event coordinator for the SRU sport management department's 2010 “Banquet in the Burgh” fundraiser that generated $4,000 for the Best of the Batch Foundation run by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch.

He is the professional development chair for SRU's Sport Management Alliance and helped create the department's new web site in the fall of 2010.

Bahr also tutors at the I Care House in New Castle and assists with youth soccer and football competitions in the State College area.

Bahr is one of four NCAA Division II kickers and one of three Pennsylvania kickers included in the group of finalists.

The other finalists for the 2010 Fred Mitchell Award include (in alphabetical order) Gregg Berkshire from Ashland (Ohio) University, C.J Gradoville from Morningside (Iowa) College, Shawn Leo from West Chester (Pa.) University, Tom Lynch from Saint Xavier University in Illinois, Adrian Mora from Georgia Southern University, Matt Myers from Northern Arizona University, Gareth Rowlands from Tusculum (Tenn.) University, Andrew Samson from the University of Pennsylvania and Iain Vance from Georgia State University.

The award is named for Fred Mitchell, a record-setting  Wittenberg University placekicker, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.

The Mitchell Award's blue-ribbon selections includes eight members of the Pro and/or College Football Hall of Fame: Tom Beck, Kevin Butler, Lou Holtz, Paul Hornung, Marv Levy, Steve McMichael, Don Pierson and Gale Sayers. Several former football players are also on the selection committee, including Carl Allegretti, Sean Gothier, Dan Jiggetts, Rick Kolaczewski, Jeff Michalczyk, Mark Murphy, Rob Perry, Jeff Schebler, Jay Sebben, Bob Thomas, Todd Wilkins, Gary Zauner and Rob Zvonar. There are nine former college or NFL place-kickers on the selection committee, including Schebler, the 2009 Fred Mitchell Award recipient and the highest-scoring placekicker in NCAA history at any level.