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5 June 2008

JSU's Softball Team Wins OVC Sportsmanship Award


Courtesy of Jacksonville State Sports Information

Jacksonville State Earns OVC Team Sportsmanship Award for Softball

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – On Wednesday the Ohio Valley Conference announced that Jacksonville State University is the recipient of the 2007-08 Team Sportsmanship Award for softball.

 

Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.

 

“The OVC places high value on sportsmanship and ethical conduct,” said Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher, OVC Commissioner. “Our awards acknowledge excellence and are special because it is recognition that comes from one’s peers.”

 

The 2007-08 school year marks the third year the team sportsmanship honors have been awarded. This marks the second straight team sportsmanship award for the Gamecocks.

 

Jacksonville State won the OVC regular-season crown for the second time this season. The Gamecocks went on to take the league’s tournament crown and posted a 2-2 record at the NCAA Regional, defeating Florida State twice. The Gamecocks are third in the nation in home runs with 1.36 per game. JSU also ranks in the NCAA top 30 in scoring, (10th, 5.88 rpg), batting average (27th, .301) and doubles (10th, 1.64).

 

“It’s an honor for our team to be recognized by the coaches in the league for not only their abilities on the field but also for how they play the game,” said Jacksonville State head coach Jana McGinnis. “A major goal for our program is not only to win championships, but to win them the right way, and that comes with respect for your opponents and, most importantly, respect for the game. I am very proud of the success that our girls had on the field this year, but even more proud that the coaches in the OVC have recognized them as good people.” 

 

Implemented in August 2005, the team honors are the most recent addition to an awards program that recognizes and celebrates sportsmanship within the Conference. In 1998, the league established the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to a male or female student-athlete of junior or senior status who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator. Five years later, the Conference added the OVC Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the member institution selected by its peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.

 

In 1995, the Ohio Valley Conference implemented a first-of-its-kind “Sportsmanship Statement,” a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one’s opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics, and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.



More information on the team can be accessed at www.softballnews.com.

See Softball News at OVC Web site: www.ovcsports.com.

Reprinted here in its entirety from OVC Softball Report.



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