INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time in school history, Lewis University has been named as the recipient of the GLVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Overall Sportsmanship Award for the 2013-14 season, it was announced by the league office Thursday. 

In addition, eight programs were also honored for displaying good sportsmanship throughout the conference during the spring-sports season.  Those honorees included Missouri S&T’s softball and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams, the University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s golf squad, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men’s golf program, the University of Southern Indiana baseball team, and the William Jewell College men’s and Quincy University women’s tennis squads.

The SAAC Sportsmanship Award is determined by vote of the GLVC member institutions’ campus SAACs. The committees select their top three choices in each sport and base their decision on their view of sportsmanship. Each team that received a first-place vote received three points, second place received two points, and the third place received one point. The GLVC sponsors the award in each of the league’s 20 championship sports.

The Flyers, under the direction of athletic director Dr. John Planek, accumulated the most points during the 2013-14 season to earn their first-ever GLVC SAAC Overall Sportsmanship Award, thanks in large part to the cross country and track and field programs.  The Dana Schwarting –led teams earned the men’s cross country and men’s and women’s indoor track and field awards this season.

Maryville University finished a close second in the unpublished team results, while newcomer Truman State University placed third in its first year competing in the league.

Lewis joins five others schools – Bellarmine University, Drury University, Northern Kentucky University, University of Southern Indiana, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside – as award winners in the seven-year period the honor has been presented.  Northern Kentucky claimed the inaugural award in 2007-08, UW-Parkside earned it in 2008-09, Bellarmine claimed back-to-back titles in 2009-10 and 2010-11, Southern Indiana won the title for the 2011-12 academic year, and Drury took home top honors last season.

Among the notables for the spring sport winners, Missouri-St. Louis garners its fifth-straight accolade in women’s golf, while UW-Parkside picks up its third honor in men’s golf, having also been recognized in 2008-09 and 2009-10.  William Jewell and Quincy earn their first sportsmanship honors in men’s and women’s tennis, respectively, just as Southern Indiana and Missouri S&T does in baseball and softball.  This is the first honor for Missouri S&T women’s outdoor track and field, but the third for the men’s outdoor program after winning outright in 2008-09 and sharing the 2009-10 accolade with Bellarmine. 
    
2014 GLVC SPRING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS

Men’s Golf:  UW-Parkside