St. Paul, Minn. - Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Commissioner Butch Raymond is proud to announce the formation of the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate. Each student-athlete will be recognized by the NSIC with a certificate of achievement and a wrist watch. Furthermore, each institution is highly encouraged to have these student-athletes be publicly recognized at a home athletic event. A total of 71 student-athletes from the NSIC's 14 institutions will receive the award in its inaugural year.
“The NSIC is excited to have this opportunity to honor an elite group of our student-athletes for their accomplishments. We feel very privileged to name the award after Dr. Brand in recognition of his strong support and the continued emphasis he placed on academics in the 'Life in Balance' theme of Division II,” said Raymond.
Dr. Myles N. Brand, visionary leader, educator and reformer, served as the President of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) from 2003-2009. He passed away in September 2009 at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Brand presided over passage of the most comprehensive academic reform package for intercollegiate athletics in recent history – a package that refocused the attention of student-athletes, coaches and administrators on the education of student-athletes. Brand also changed the national dialog on college sports to emphasize the educational value of athletics participation and the integration of intercollegiate athletics with the academic mission of higher education. His impact on Division II ran deep by implementing an identity campaign and a strategic-positioning platform tied to specific divisional attributes. He challenged Division II to continue its game-environment and community-engagement focus, and improve academic success rates.
The NSIC is a 14-team, 17-sport, NCAA Division II Conference with teams located in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Full NSIC Release
http://www.northernsun.org/10_02_10_MB_All-Acadmic_Release.pdf
2010 Recipients List by School
MSU MOORHEAD
Name Sport Hometown Major
Keri Dowzak Volleyball Rosemount, Minn. Chemistry/Pre-Pharmacy
Amanda Wickersham Track & Field E. Grnd Forks, Minn. Biology
AUGUSTANA COLLEGE
Name Sport Hometown Major
Ellen Andrews Volleyball Bancroft, Neb. Exercise Science/Fitness Mgmt
Alison Broadwell Tennis Sartell, Minn. Elementary Education
Bobbi Buyck Track & Field Garvin, Minn. Nursing
Jon Emerson Golf Columbus, Neb. Business Administration
Josh Niedenfuer Football Andover, Minn. PE, Education
BEMIDJI STATE
Josh Dale Golf Cross Lake, Minn. Biology / Chemistry
Josh Silvernagel Baseball Bismarck, N.D. Exercise Science
Farrah Steinke Tennis Bismarck, N.D. Biology
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
Kendra Benson Soccer Anoka, Minn. Biology / Kinesiology
Anna Bjorlin Softball Hermantown, Minn. Criminal Justice
Megan Fulton Track & Field Sussex, Wis. Marketing
Ryan Iverson Baseball Spg Lake Park, Minn. Physical Education
Sandra James Track & Field St. Paul, Minn. Education
Maggie McNamara Volleyball Zumbrota, Minn. Mathematics
Mary Slinger Volleyball Faribault, Minn. Biology & Chemistry
Jayme Wyss Track & Field Clear Lake, Wis. Christian Education
UNIVERSITY OF MARY
Nicole Ackerman Track & Field Gillette, Wyo. Athletic Training
Katie Hogan Volleyball Rapid City, S.D. Exercise Science
Andy Leer Baseball Williston, N.D. Business Administration
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Ben Cook Track & Field Rush City, Minn. Chemical Engineering
Jodi DeGrote Track & Field Sauk Rapids, Minn. Molecular Biology
Nicole Heinks Track & Field Cambridge, Minn. Chemistry
Tobias Lemke Football Essen, Germany Political Science/Criminology
Eric Olson Track & Field Park Center, Minn.Criminology/Political Science
Alex Paffrath Soccer Owatanna, Minn. Biochem/Molecular Biology
Megan Rubesh Track & Field Hayward, Wis. Geological Sciences
Brandon Wood Football Menomonie, Wis. Biology
MINNESOTA STATE
Tegan Bakke, Tennis Watertown, S.D. Marketing
Lindsay Broughten Cross Country Lakeville, Minn. Nursing
Natalie Bullis Soccer Madison, Wis. Phys. Ed.
Paige Burke Tennis Ham Lake, Minn. Law Enforcement
Lauren Butters Soccer Scottsdale, Ariz. Nursing
Jonathon Herzog Golf New Ulm, Minn. Management
Carly Hiedeman Tennis Watertown, S.D. Communications
Jenny Hoese Cross Country Watertown, Minn. Nursing
Whitney Kroschel Cross Country Afton, Minn. Biology / Ecology
Ally Kwikkel Volleyball Waverly, Iowa Family Consumer Science
Courtney Magnuson Soccer Rosemount, Minn. Elem. Ed
Gina Paletta Soccer Omaha, Neb. Human Biology
Michael Robinson Football Wausau, Wis. Finance
Ashton Schuster Tennis Maple Lake, Minn. Biochemistry
Elizabeth Trauger Basketball Livermore, Iowa Accounting
NORTHERN STATE
Cody Hageman Track & Field Hoven, S.D. Business Management
Laci Hettick Track & Field Roscoe, S.D. Social Science
Payton McCleary Baseball Calgary, Alberta History
Laura Skog Soccer Anoka, Minn. Psychology
Katie Smith Track & Field Hazel, S.D. Education
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
Kevin Andrews Basketball Marion, Iowa Finance/Accounting
Leah Ashburn Volleyball Hector, Minn. Marketing
Sara Graf Volleyball Mt Pleasant, Iowa Accounting
Danielle Hildebrandt Tennis St. James, Minn. Exercise Science
ST. CLOUD STATE
Kelly Freese Tennis St. Cloud, Minn. General Biology
Heather Miller Track & Field Sun Prairie, WI Nursing
UPPER IOWA
Casey Coon Softball Freeport, Ill. Management
Laura Taylor Golf Woodbury, Minn. Graphic Design
WAYNE STATE
Tyler Gebers Football Holstein, Iowa Elementary Education
Jacob Mathieson Tennis Neligh, Nebr. Geography
Brian Metz Basketball Keswick, Iowa Business Management
Sarah Thomsen Tennis/CC Wahoo, Neb. Mass Comm/Journalism
WINONA STATE
Lauren Brown Track & Field Madison, Wis. Biology / Pre-Medicine
Eric Boehm Football Sioux Falls, S.D. Engineering
Evan Buhr Baseball Viroqua, Wis. Psychology
Kerry Daly Volleyball Woodbury, Minn. Biology / Pre-Medicine
Lindsey Derby Track & Field Dubuque, Iowa Sociology / Criminal Justice
Marcus Greatens Football Oneida, Wis. Biology / Pre-Medicine
Seth Haun Football Tomah, Wis. Mathematics
Mary Hesterman Tennis West Chicago, Ill. Business Administration
Ryan Slack Cross Country Mankato, Minn. Social Science
Anastacia Wurtz Basketball Brandon, Wis. Psychology
