Warrensburg, Mo. (Feb. 17, 2001) -- For the second year in a row, Blair Thompson has been named the recipient of two scholarships awarded annually to a member of the Mules' basketball team at Central Missouri State University. Thompson is the recipient of both the Richard Raker Memorial Scholarship Award and the Larry Bates Scholarship Award.

Established in honor of the late Richard Raker, a longtime Mules' booster, the Richard Raker Memorial Scholarship Award goes to a Mules' reserve coming off the bench, while the Larry Bates Scholarship Award, founded in 1991 by Central graduate and former Mules' player Larry Bates of Overland Park, Kan., goes annually to a Mules' basketball player possessing good moral character, as well as promise of leadership and academic ability.

Thompson, a sophomore from Jefferson City, Mo., and a graduate of Jefferson City High School, has played in all but two games for the Mules this season, 16 of them off the bench. He is majoring in physical education at Central and is the son of John and Sue Thompson.