Feb. 8, 2006

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - On Wednesday, the Ohio Valley Conference announced the first set of recipients of the league's inaugural Team Sportsmanship Awards. Among the squads capturing the honor for the fall season were the football and men's and women's cross country teams from Samford University.

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 team sportsmanship awards highlight a core value of the Ohio Valley Conference," said OVC Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher. "It is a privilege to recognize the leadership of student-athletes and coaches, especially when the honor is bestowed by one's peers. The Samford cross country and football programs are to be congratulated for their dedication to excellence."

"This is very rewarding for Samford to be recognized by our peers in this important category," said Samford Director of Athletics Bob Roller. "The OVC has placed a high emphasis on this character trait, and we're pleased to accept this recognition."

"We consider it a real honor that the other schools have voted for us for the team sportsmanship award," said Samford head cross country coach Glenn McWaters. "We feel very privileged and very humbled by this award. I think that this is a reflection of the quality of kids we have here at Samford."

"Any type of recognition we receive is a tribute to the university and what it stands for," said Samford head football coach Bill Gray. "It is a testament to the type of players our coaches are continuing to recruit. It is an honor that we will take great pride in."

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 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.