Posted: Nov 07, 2011
The NAIA recognized 220 colleges and universities and 23 conferences with the Champions of Character Five Star Award. To receive the award, members must score 60 or more points on the NAIA Champions of Character Scorecard and conferences named to the list must have at least 60 percent of its member schools making the grade with 60 or more points.
“In today’s complex college athletic environments – where success is sometimes only measured by wins and losses – strengthening effective athletic departments and leadership is key to advancing character-driven intercollegiate athletics,” said Kristin Gillette, NAIA Director of Champions of Character. “The Scorecard supports and recognizes member institutions and conferences using sport as a vehicle to teach life lessons. No doubt this is a point of differentiation in college athletics and making a huge impact on our 60,000 student-athletes.”
The Scorecard was crafted to convert the NAIA’s vision and strategy into measurable goals and to monitor progress towards advancing character-driven intercollegiate athletics. The initiative supports performance-driven athletics while defining expectations and standards that drive successful teams and athletics departments.
Institutions were measured based on a demonstrated commitment to Champions of Character and earned points in each of the following categories: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions earned points based on exceptional student-athlete grade point averages and by obtaining zero ejections during competition throughout the course of the academic year.
The Scorecard process is based on the NAIA’s flagship program Champions of Character, which emphasizes the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.
To learn more about the NAIA visit www.NAIA.org and for additional information on Champions of Character visit www.ChampionsofCharacter.org.
Champions of Character Five Star Conferences: American Mideast Conference; American Midwest Conference; Appalachian Athletic Conference; California Pacific Conference; Cascade Collegiate Conference; Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference; Frontier Conference; Golden State Athletic Conference; Great Plains Athletic Conference; Gulf Coast Athletic Conference; Heart of America Athletic Conference; Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference; Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; Mid-Central College Conference; Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference; Mid-South Conference; Midwest Collegiate Conference; Red River Athletic Conference; Sooner Athletic Conference; Southern States Athletic Conference; The Sun Conference; TranSouth Athletic Conference; Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.
