Mohamed “Zoal” Awad ’27

When Mohamed “Zoal” Awad arrived at Pitt-Bradford, he was looking for three things: a place to keep playing soccer, a tight-knit community, and a degree that would open doors. He found all of them — and then some. An international student from Sudan by way of Saudi Arabia, the sport and recreation management major has become one of the most recognized faces on campus, in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, and increasingly across Division III athletics. His dream is to promote soccer in the United States, and he’s already moving in that direction.

In spring 2025, Awad took on a role representing the AMCC at the national Division III level — a two-year commitment he’s tackling with characteristic drive. He attended the NCAA conference as a delegate and observer, gaining a firsthand look at how the organization operates and how legislation moves through the process. He was asked to speak on the experience of international students and emerging Name, Image and Likeness provisions, but he has a bigger campaign in mind: pushing for Division III athletes to be eligible for athletic scholarships, something the division currently prohibits. It’s an ambitious goal for an amateur athletics landscape, and one that may point him toward law school.

His passion for the sports world only deepened when he attended the NCAA-sponsored Black Student Athlete Summit in Chicago.

For Awad, that sense of shared ambition echoes what drew him to Pitt-Bradford in the first place. “Having the opportunity to earn a degree of such renowned appreciation and value from the University of Pittsburgh is huge,” he has said of the Pitt name he’ll carry into his career. Whether that career leads to a front office, a courtroom, or a soccer pitch, the path Awad is carving looks distinctly his own.