NCAA Division II Award of Excellence Bestowed on Michigan Tech
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA recently announced that Michigan
Tech is one of 26 conference and independent recipients of the 2014
Division II Award of Excellence, recognizing events and activities
that exemplify the type of community engagement the division
emphasizes.
Examples of events the award seeks to recognize include activities
associated with Division II partner Make-A-Wish, military
appreciation, community engagement, game environment,
student-athlete leadership development and educational
programming.
Michigan Tech partnered with GLIAC rival Northern Michigan on
Madison’s Wish, a Make-A-Wish fundraiser for a Hancock,
Mich., girl who wishes to go to Disney World. Madison suffers from
Nemaline Rod Myopathy.
Tech’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council has been working
since the start of the fall to raise funds for Madison’s
Wish. They are selling T-shirts at all home athletic events,
running a chuck-a-puck contest at hockey games, hosting a
bounce-o-rama for area youth in the spring, holding 50/50 raffles
at home basketball games, putting on an Ultimate Frisbee tournament
in the spring and working at dine-and-donate events at local
restaurants.
“Our student-athletes have been involved in fundraising for
Make-A-Wish Foundation for a number of years,” said Tech
Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret. “They also really value
our community and want to find ways to give back. Madison’s
Wish has provided a great opportunity to join those two ideas
together.
“It’s exciting to see the character and compassion of
our student-athletes recognized by the NCAA.”
2014 Division II Award of Excellence winners were each awarded
$500 for the event or activity in which they were recognized. One
winner from each of Division II’s 24 conferences plus an
independent were honored.
The NCAA highlighted Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan as being
the first co-recipients of the award from the same conference.