Former Tennessee-Martin soccer player Emily Miller has been named one of three 2004 NCAA Inspiration Award recipients.

The NCAA will present the award to Miller during its Honors Dinner at the NCAA Convention, Jan. 11, in Nashville.

The other two Inspiration Award recipients are Heather Denison, a volleyball student-athlete at the University of Portland and Mike Nyeholt, a former swimmer at the University of Southern California.

Jimmy Baxter, a men's basketball and track and field student athlete at the University of South Florida, also earned the 2004 NCAA Award of Valor for his heroic efforts. He will receive his award at the NCAA Convention, Jan. 11 in Nashville.

For the past three years Emily Miller has been a part of the Tennessee- Martin Skyhawk soccer team. Her statistics are nothing to brag about, but she contributes, has a great work ethic and understands the team concept.

Her contribution to the team this season has been in the role of a reserve player. As her teammates prepared to host their first Ohio Valley Conference tournament match, Miller was 150 miles away in Memphis dealing with a much tougher foe than Southeast Missouri State. She's battling osteosarcoma, bone cancer.

Osteosarcoma is a cancer that, typically, strikes children from 10-20 years old. The current survival rate is 70 percent if limb sparing surgery and chemotherapy are used.

"She endures incredible nerve pain daily, and has a limp, but she is just as positive today as she was before she had cancer," says Catherine Greenslade, Emily's mother.

Despite her illness, soccer is still important to Emily.

"When the going really gets tough and you just don't think you have it in you to take another step, rub your purple pre-wrap bracelet and know that I am cheering you each on as you battle today," Emily wrote.

"Stay positive and fight like hell! You girls are my heroes and I cannot wait to see you all again."

Miller's note was taped to the wall in the Skyhawk soccer locker room for each team member to read before they walked down to the field behind the Elam Center.

Before her diagnosis, Emily played soccer and was on the Dean's List. When a persistent pain in her leg became unbearable, April 2003, she went home to see the family's orthopedic surgeon.

The next day she was referred to an oncologist, and two days after that, she underwent a biopsy. Less than one week from going home, Emily was admitted at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

"We were running during spring practice and I was having a lot of problems with my knee," Emily said. "I went to the trainers because I couldn't deal with the pain anymore."

Her chemotherapy began April 22, 2003 and will continue through March. "She endured four rounds of harsh chemotherapy drugs first, and had surgery to remove suspicious spots of her left lung and later survived a collapsed lung," Greenslade said.

She underwent seven hours of limb sparing surgery to remove the tumor in her femur, which included removing portions of both her femur and tibia, plus total removal of the knee. A titanium prosthesis was implanted inside her leg from the top of her thigh to just above the ankle.

Less than 36 hours passed from limb sparing surgery and Emily was released from the Intensive Care Unit.

"She left the hospital five days later, with a new leg and no idea how to use it," Greenslade said. "The bones, muscles, nerves and tendons were either removed or rerouted.

"Through 14 weeks of grueling rehabilitation, Emily has learned to walk again and has about 125 degrees bend, which is unusual progress for this type of prosthesis," Greenslade said.

Before school started in August, Emily had a chance to tell all Tennessee- Martin athletes what she had been through.

"I wanted all of the athletes to know how opportunities can slip away," Emily said.

"I wanted them to know that opportunities slipped away for the girl that never drank and never smoked. I know some athletes who smoke and I wanted them to realize that a pack of cigarettes is not worth going through what I did.

"I told them to live life and be grateful, even if you are running sprints and working hard to get in shape," Emily said.

Just hours before Emily stood in front of the 300 athletes in Skyhawk Fieldhouse she was in the hospital pleading with doctors to release her so she could come to Martin and give her speech. She was pleading her case because she had a 104.6 temperature.

Emily has also attended every soccer game she could this season. "She perseveres through the pain of walking, so she can be with her team to cheer them on," Greenslade said.

Emily's teammates have been inspired by her that they printed t-shirts with the message "If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it."

The t-shirts are not all Emily has inspired. The entire Tennessee-Martin campus participated in a fund raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

More than $5,000 was raised in the Million Mile Marathon, where pledges were made for miles ran by students and faculty.

Beyond the confines of Tennessee-Martin, Emily has become a spokesperson for the hospital, appearing in the upcoming video, "A Time for Hope," with Marlo Thomas. She also speaks to groups and individuals about the wonderful things happening at St. Jude, in order to raise money for the hospital.

Emily's life has changed. Currently, she lives at home in Memphis. She's unable to drive because of the pain medication she takes daily.

She has no hair, and she doesn't attend college. But, she plans to return to college next fall to complete her degree in Spanish.

"She won't play soccer again, but she will be right there beside her teammates and her friends," Greenslade said.

"She plans on attending nursing school after that. The hospital has a desperate need for Spanish speaking nurses at the hospital, so Emily wants to give back to the place that saved her life," Greenslade said.

The NCAA Award of Valor recognizes a coach, administrator or current or former student-athlete who when confronted with a situation involving personal danger, averted or minimized the potential disaster by courageous action or noteworthy bravery.

The 2004 Award of Valor and Inspiration Awards recipients are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, comprised of eight athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.