MAC Honors Kent State with 2015-16 Cartwright Award
8/31/2016 10:31:00 AM | General
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced today the presentation of the Cartwright Award to Kent State University for its program excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship during the 2015-16 school year. It is the program's third Cartwright Award honor in the last seven years, the most of any program in the MAC.
"This is a very special award because it recognizes the attributes that are truly at the heart of Kent State, and I am grateful to the extraordinary student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff members who uphold our commitment to student success, well-being and competitive excellence," said university president Beverly Warren. "That this award carries the name of our former university president, Dr. Carol Cartwright, makes this doubly rewarding for all of us."
"This is an outstanding achievement by our student-athletes, coaches and staff," said Director of Athletics Joel Nielsen. "The Cartwright Award recognizes our dedication to success in all aspects of intercollegiate athletics. Receiving this honor for the third time in seven years is a credit to the hard work and dedication of all Golden Flashes, past and present. We look forward to competing for this award again in years to come."
The Cartwright Award is named in honor of Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, one of the most highly respected voices in higher education. Dr. Cartwright served as the President of Kent State University from 1991-2006 and President of Bowling Green from 2008-2011. Dr. Cartwright previously was the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at the Pennsylvania State University. She has served on the NCAA Board of Directors and is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
"The Cartwright Award is unique in that it recognizes excellence not only on the field of play, but also in the classroom and in community," said Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, Mid-American Conference Commissioner. "It speaks to the core values of our Conference and to be selected by its peers for this award is a tremendous honor for Kent State University. I applaud the students, coaches and entire staff for this special honor."
This honor comes on the heels of the Golden Flashes receiving the Jacoby Trophy, recognized as the top women's program in MAC, for a conference-record ninth time. Overall, Kent State won four MAC regular season championships and took home three MAC Tournament titles. The success was matched in the classroom, where student-athletes earned a department-record 3.212 GPA. A total of 57 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 GPA, also an all-time best mark for the Golden Flashes.
Below is a brief summary of the accomplishments by Kent State in each of the three areas of academic, athletic and citizenship excellence:
Kent State Academic Summary (2015-16):
• Kent State recorded the highest athletic department annual GPA in program history with a 3.212 GPA.
• The 2015-16 academic year marked the 10th consecutive term of a 3.00+ cumulative department GPA.
• Kent State had 12 teams with both their term and cumulative GPA over 3.00 and with a total of 10 different teams with term GPA over 3.40.
• Golden Flashes set an athletic department record as 93 student-athletes boasted a 4.00 GPA (fall/spring).
• 64% of Kent State student-athletes finished the year with a 3.00 or higher GPA.
• 44% of Kent State student-athletes finished the year with a 3.40 or higher GPA.
• Five Kent State teams were publicly recognized by the NCAA for the Academic Progress Report (APR) ranking in the top 10% of their specific sport.
• Eleven Kent State teams posted a single-year APR of 1000, while four programs had a multi-year APR of 1000.
• A total of 16 of 18 Kent State teams improved or maintained the single year APR from the previous year.
• Five teams had a 100% Graduation Success Rate (GSR).
• The Kent State student-athlete graduation rate is 28% higher than the general study body.
• Kent State had three students named CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-Americans.
• Kent State had nine students recognized as CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District.
• Golden Flashes' had a total of 152 students named as Academic All-MAC selections.
• Kent State was recognized with 66 students named as Distinguished Scholar Athlete selections.
Kent State Athletic Summary (2015-16):
• Kent State athletics continued its tradition of excellence with another banner year in 2015-16. The Golden Flashes won their ninth Jacoby Trophy and finished third in the Reese Trophy standings.
• Kent State earned seven MAC regular season and/or tournament titles in 2015-16 in addition to eight player of the year and five coach of the year recipients. A total of 71 Kent State competitors were honored with All-MAC accolades. Success went beyond the competition field, as three student-athletes were selected as Capital One Academic All-Americans and six additional student-athletes were Academic All-District honorees.
• The field hockey program remained dominant as it repeated as MAC regular season and tournament champions. Kathleen Wiler was honored as Coach of the Year as the team had five All-MAC recipients while Andrea Rinehart was named MAC Tournament MVP and Ines Delpech earned All-Region honors. Ten students made the Academic All-MAC team.
• Jimmy Hall led the men's basketball team as he received All-MAC First Team accolades for the second straight season and was also named first team all-region. Khaliq Spicer garnered MAC Defensive Player of the Year honors while being among one of the conference leaders in blocked shots.
• Gymnastics added to its crowded trophy case with another regular season MAC title, as Rachel Stypinski was named Gymnast of the Year. Jordan Hardison was honored as All-MAC Second Team and MAC All-Tournament Team. Seven gymnasts earned Academic All-MAC accolades.
• Ian Miller and Mike DePalma provided Kent State wrestling with an All-American for the eighth consecutive season as five Golden Flashes qualified for the NCAA Championships. The program recorded the fifth-highest team grade point average in the nation this past year and finished ranked No.15 in the final coaches poll.
• MAC Coach of the Year Eric Oakley led softball to the regular season title while two students received All-Region nods and nine were named to the Academic All-MAC team.
• Women's golf set a new MAC record with its 18th consecutive championship this spring. Taylor Kim was named Golfer of the Year while all five qualifiers were named All-MAC. Both Wad Phaewchimplee and Josée Doyon repeated as WGCA All-America Scholars and Assistant Coach Maddi Swaney was honored as the WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year.
• Men's golf also won the MAC Championship as Herb Page, Chase Johnson and Gisli Sveinbergsson were honored as Coach of the Year, Golfer of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Ian Holt joined Johnson and Sveinbergsson as an All-MAC team member.
• Track and field produced five All-Americans and 10 individual MAC Championships, as well as two Olympic qualifiers in William Barnes (Puerto Rico-110m hurdles) and Danniel Thomas (Jamaica- shot put). Thirty-one student-athletes received Academic All-MAC honors for the indoor season.
• The baseball team posted an impressive 44 wins, matching the third-most victories in program history. The 2015 squad won the regular season title as Jeff Duncan was named MAC Coach of the Year. Eric Lauer became a national phenomenon as he was a consensus First Team All-American and a Second Team Academic All-American. Lauer became Kent State's 11th first round draft pick while also being named Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year by numerous national outlets.
Kent State Citizenship Summary (2015-16):
• Kent State student-athletes contributed 2,190 hours to the institution and broader community.
• Volleyball kicked off the school year by hosting a school supply drive, in their efforts to collect school supplies to assist local schools in need.
• With the theme of supporting children in our community, both field hockey and soccer devoted approximately 40 hours at Akron Children's Hospital spending time with the patients.
• Men and women's track and field programs spent over 75 hours beginning a new running and fitness initiative, Running with the Flashes, teaming up with Willyard Elementary School holding proper running stations during lunchtime recess.
• Going on its 14th year, SAAC and the Kent State athletic department hosted Jock Jams, the annual event where athletic teams compete by performing choreographed lip sync and dance routines. This year, the event raised approximately $1,000 to support a local elementary school.
• Two additional elementary school events included 80 Kent State student-athletes participating in the 4th annual Moving with the Flashes, a full day consisting of several different physical activity stations taught by the athletes. At Woodland Elementary in Stow, in conjunction with the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart, the student-athletes ran different jump roping stations to promote physical fitness.
• Baseball and softball teams combined efforts during the winter season to assist in creating 139 holiday baskets for the community members of McElrath Park and King Kennedy Center. Those baskets were then distributed during the center's holiday party to those in need.
• Men's and women's golf programs continued their efforts in teaming up with the Ben Curtis Family Foundation in their efforts to service underprivileged youth in the Kent area by giving each student a "Birdie Bag" filled with food and other supplies to help through extended weekends.
• Gymnastics continued the success of its Flip for the Cure event. This year's meet collected $6,000 in proceeds that went to the COSA CARES program, a non-profit agency that helps women and their families battling breast cancer.
• Volleyball and softball teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and put in over 100 hours of labor in the creation and renovation of homes.
• Student-athletes joined several campus wide initiatives including The Bridge Project, which volleyball and baseball completed assisting university personnel in feeding the homeless in Akron. The football and basketball teams supported Flash-A-Thon, a major university fundraiser for the hematology and oncology unit at Akron Children's Hospital. In the spring the football team led the charge at Walk-A-Mile in Their Shoes, embarking on a full mile hike in women's heels, a movement that focuses on men being a part of the solution to end sexualized violence.
• The International Student-Athlete Orientation program was a new initiative for the student-athletes this year. The program's goal was to assist international student-athletes in their transition to the American culture, education system, and expectations of American coaches at the NCAA level.
• When it comes to personal development, Kent State Athletics welcomed Becky Bedics from the Jeff Janssen Sports Leadership Center and Brian Windhorst, ESPN/NBA commentator to campus. They presented on the topics of personal branding, leadership and social media etiquette.
• In February, junior and senior student-athletes welcomed over 20 companies and organizations to the Kent State campus for "Career Night." The night was organized so that each student-athlete could network, career counsel and learn important interview skills with the professionals in attendance.
• In January, four student-athletes traveled to Virginia for the APPLE Conference. There, the student-athletes collaborated to create new initiatives within the athletic department. The main focus was planning education on substance abuse to help develop and strengthen a sense of personal responsibility and wellness among the Kent State student-athletes.
• The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's main initiative this year was focused on Mental Health Awareness Week. During that week at all sporting events, the team representatives put together a love your "selfie" booth, where students could stop by to take a selfie, learn about mental health and post the selfies on twitter with the #itsoktonotbeok tag. SAAC also continued the collection of Box Tops this year across all of the athletic programs, with that the athletic department collected 3,000 Box Tops donated to a Kent area school in need.
• In 2014-15 Leadership Academy was composed of 15 student-athletes who met monthly. This year, each participant participated in a 360-degree evaluation, where they learned more about the impression their leadership and behaviors are having on those they work with the closest. Life After Sport is a capstone course option for graduating student-athletes. In addition to a focus on the emotional aspects of retirement from sport, the course also covers resume-building, interviewing skills and transferable skills obtained through athletic participation.
Players Mentioned
