BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston athletic department announced that six student-athletes have been announced as recipients of the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Each student-athlete will be recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wristwatch. Furthermore, each institution is highly encouraged to have these student-athletes be publicly recognized at a home athletic event. A record number 147 student-athletes from the NSIC's 16 institutions received the award in its ninth year, five more than last year's record of 142.
The Golden Eagle recipients for 2017-18 are:
Victoria Bayliss (Sr., West Bloomfield, Mich., Softball),
Emily Gruber (Sr., Monticello, Minn., Women's Basketball),
Kaycie Hagen (Sr., Savage, Minn., Volleyball),
Alyssa Muelken (Sr., Savage, Minn., Volleyball),
Micaela Noga (Sr., Parkers Prairie, Minn., Women's Basketball) and
Becca Vandenheuvel (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn., Volleyball).
The volleyball team had the most recipients with three, while the women's basketball team had two recipients and the softball team notched one recipient. The Golden Eagles had just two honorees last season. The six award winners ties the mark set by Minnesota Crookston following the 2016 season. It is three shy of the school record for NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winners, which was set during the 2014-15 season.
"I am filled with pride on how our student-athletes in the NSIC continue to excel in the classroom, in the community and on the playing field. We continue to increase the number of student-athletes that have earned the Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award, which is a testament to the dedication of the student-athletes, coaches and administrators in our league. These are characteristics in which Dr. Myles Brand emphasized. I am extremely proud of all these student-athletes for their devotion to their universities, the NSIC and to their personal academic and athletic goals. I have no doubt these student-athletes will continue to achieve success in life well beyond the classroom and the competition venues," said Lind.
Dr. Myles N. Brand, visionary leader, educator and reformer, served as the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2003-2009. He passed away in September 2009 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Brand presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocused the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes. Brand also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His impact on Division II ran deep by implementing an identity campaign and a strategic-positioning platform tied to specific divisional attributes. He challenged Division II to continue its game environment and community engagement focus, and improve academic success rates.
The NSIC is a 16-team, 18-sport, NCAA Division II conference with teams located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The mission of the NSIC is to promote, conduct and regulate competitive sports programs which will assist student-athletes in their successful athletic, academic and person development.
