EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University has announced the endowment of the Jeff Dailey Memorial Scholarship for the Warriors' men's basketball program. Senior forward Chris Bach, a PSAC Winter Top 10 selection for his athletic and academic accomplishments at ESU, will be the inaugural recipient of the award.

The scholarship has been established in the memory of Jeff Dailey, who was a student at ESU when he tragically passed away in an off-campus fire on November 8, 2007. The scholarship, which is being endowed at level of $21,000, will be awarded annually to assist a member of the ESU men's basketball program.

"We are very touched that East Stroudsburg University wants to honor Jeff's memory with the institution of a perpetual scholarship fund. The fact that Jeff touched so many people in such a positive way is a tribute to the kind of person that he was," said Jeff's parents, Bob and Jane Dailey.

"It is extremely fitting that Chris Bach is the first recipient of this scholarship. Chris and Jeff were great friends and Chris is a wonderful person who is well deserving of this award. We are 100 percent positive that Jeff would agree."

Donors for the scholarship include the ESU men's basketball program, the Jeff Dailey Memorial Foundation and the ESU Athletic Directors Fund. Funding for the scholarship was allocated from several sources, including the ESU Men's Basketball Golf Outing held on August 8 at Water Gap Country Club and the Jeff Dailey Memorial Golf Tournament held on June 20 at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem. A donation from the ESU field hockey team was also contributed.

Dailey, the all-time leading scorer at Notre Dame of Green Pond High School in Bethlehem, transferred to ESU in January 2007 from Cabrini College and participated in workouts with the men's basketball program that spring. Although he decided to focus on academics, he became a close friend to many members of the team during his time at ESU.

Dailey's athletic accolades were numerous, as he ranks second in Northampton County history with 1,742 career points and led Notre Dame High School to the District XI AA title in 2003. During his senior season in 2004, Dailey was the Colonial League MVP, led his team to the AA state semifinal and was an All-State selection while setting the Lehigh Valley record with 126 three-point field goals. His high school jersey was retired by Notre Dame in 2004.

While at Cabrini, Dailey was the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman and was a member of the All-PAC team as a sophomore before transferring to ESU. Dailey was posthumously inducted into the Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Chris Bach (Levittown/Harry S Truman), a Sport Management major with a 3.8 grade-point average, is ESU's team captain and was selected to the All-PSAC East second team following his junior season. He was the only PSAC men's basketball player named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II team and was nominated for the Comeback Award from the V Foundation for his return to college after spending a decade away from the classroom.

Recipients of the Jeff Dailey Memorial Scholarship must be full-time students who will be selected in the spring semester by the Athletic Director, head coach of the men's basketball program, and the head of the Jeff Dailey Memorial Foundation. The award will be credited to the recipient's tuition and fees for the following academic year, half in the fall semester and half in the spring semester. The recipient of the scholarship must be in good academic and social standing at ESU.