Marygrove Named Five-Star Institution by NAIA

DETROIT, Mich. — Recently, Marygrove College was selected as a National Institution of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Five-Star Champions of Character Institution for the 2010-2011 academic year.

The College joins a list of 220 members of the NAIA to be recognized as an institution that exemplifies the promotion character-driven athletics within the association.

List of the Five-Star Champions of Character Institutions

A Five-Star Conference Award was given to the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) – the Mustangs future athletic conference beginning Fall 2012. The pair of announcements represents the goals set forth by the College and Conference to become a shining star within NAIA’s Champions of Character initiative.

To receive the award, members scored 60 or more points on the NAIA Champions of Character Scorecard and conferences named to the list had at least 60% of its member schools making the grade with 60 or more points.

“Marygrove College is proud to be recognized as a Five-Star Champions of Character Institution,” said athletic director Dave Sichterman. “Being named to the list means a lot to our athletics program as we continue our growth within the NAIA and soon the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference. The announcement speaks to the commitment of our student-athletes and institution alike to promote character-driven athletics at Marygrove College.”

Some highlights from the 2010-11 academic year include: Champions of Character awareness at every home contest, having each student-athlete sign a Champions of Character pledge, furthering the development of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and an all-athlete forum that featured former Detroit Piston and Michigan State University great, Greg Kelser, as a guest speaker. Kelser’s address focused around his time as a student-athlete and how character plays a vital role in the success of everyone on and off the playing field.

The Scorecard was created to provide a way to measure each institution’s commitment to character and the NAIA’s vision toward advancing character-driven intercollegiate athletics. 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 minimal ejections/warnings during competition throughout the course of the academic year.