For the fourth time in history, the Blugold athletes have again been nationally recognized for their efforts in the community, according to a Blugold Athletics press release.
UW-Eau Claire took first place under the Array of Projects/Activities category in the contest, which is sponsored by Jostens and the NCAA Division III. The number of institutions eligible to win an award numbered 450, but only 17 were honored through three categories of recognition.
The Blugolds have truly been involved in an array of projects over the 2008-09 school year. According to an e-mail from Scott Kilgallon, the director of athletics, the projects, a lot of which are coordinated through the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, include:
- Increasing cancer awareness through Relay for Life teams and fundraising
- Collecting shoes for donations overseas through the Soles4Souls program
- Annual food drives for Feed My People food bank
- Participating in community clean-ups
- Youth involvement through clinics and mentoring
Along with the prestige of winning, the national program will give a trophy and a $1,000 general fund scholarship to the Blugolds and the two other winning institutions.
The Blugolds have also placed in the Array of Projects/Activities category in the past. They won the award in 2002, received honorable mention in 2006 and were given an award of merit in 2008.
This year, the other winning institutions were Amherst College (Mass.) in the One Time Project/Activity category and York College (Penn.) in the On-Going Project/Activity category.
