NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Utah Valley University has been honored as the Great West Conference Sportsmanship Award winner, as announced Friday by the league office. The award is given annually to the GWC member institution judged by its peers to be the best in the conference in living up to the ideals of sportsmanship. It is the first Great West Sportsmanship Award for the Wolverines after Houston Baptist University claimed the honor the past three years.
"The Great West had its most competitive year on the playing field in 2012-13, but none of our institutions lost sight of what is most important in collegiate athletics — winning with class, losing with grace and giving your all," GWC Commissioner Ed Grom said. "I am proud that all five of our athletic programs received at least one second-place vote in the Sportsmanship Award polling. Utah Valley's success on and off the field begins at the top with President Matthew Holland and Athletic Director Mike Jacobsen. The Wolverines have shown that sportsmanship is an integral part of their athletic department mission by the voting of their peers, and we want to congratulate them on an award well-deserved."
Each member institution ranks its top three choices for the award voted on at the end of the academic year. Areas for evaluation include student-athlete conduct, coaches' conduct, staff/administrators' conduct and fan conduct.
Kellen Hiser is sports information assistant at Utah Valley University. For more information on Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.