CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina senior placekicker Blake Bostic has been named to the watch list for the 2010 Fred Mitchell Award. Bostic is one of 40 kickers on the list for the award that includes NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) collegiate place-kickers that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.

Of the 40, Bostic is one of 15 from the FCS level and the lone nominee from the Southern Conference. He is also one of 21 seniors on the watch list.

Bostic led the Catamounts in scoring for a second-straight season a year ago with 39 points including 8-of-10 on field goal attempts and 15-of-17 on PAT's. He twice connected on two field-goals in a single game in 2009 coming against both Gardner-Webb and at Chattanooga. Bostic enters his final season tied for eighth in the school's record books with 18 career field goals.

A 2010 Preseason All-SoCon selection, the Bostic, N.C., native played in all 11 games for WCU a year ago handling the primary kickoff and place kicking duties. He only missed two field goal attempts a season ago and was a perfect 6-for-6 from within 39 yards.

The annual Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award (also known as the Fred Mitchell Award) is provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among more than 600 FCS, Division II, III and NAIA football teams.  The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist.

The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community.  The Award's Watch List is released in August, top performers are recognized monthly during the college football season, and the winner (who is not required to be on the Watch List) is announced in mid-December.  The school of the Award winner receives scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented in February at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall.

Western Carolina football players report to campus Friday with the first practice sessions scheduled for Saturday afternoon in Cullowhee. The Catamounts open the 2010 season on the road at North Carolina State on Saturday, Sept. 4.