Kansas City, KS (August 15, 2009) - Career Athletes is proud to announce recently signed multi-year partnerships with new universities for the month of August. The partnerships provide a national representation of unique career development resources for current and alumni athletes at these universities. "We are pleased to partner with these athletic programs and their commitment toward career development for athletes, but it is also just as important to recognize their culture of achievement in community service, academic performance and athletic success during the 2008-2009 academic year," said Chris Smith CEO and President of Career Athletes.
Recently Signed School Partners to the Career Athletes Community include:
Erskine College, NCAA Division II, Conference Carolinas - located in Erskine, South Carolina. 78 of theprogram's 203 student-athletes were named to the Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll in 2008-2009. Men's basketball and baseball were both Conference Carolinas Tournament Runner-ups and women's tennis was Conference Carolinas Champions. Senior soccer player Kyle Bennett received Conference Carolinas Murphy-Osborne Award given to the top student-athlete in the conference.
Lindenwood University, NAIA, Heart of America Athletic Conference - located in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lion sports program recently finished third in the NACDA Director's Cup among NAIA teams in recognition of its overall success at national championship events. The finish is the ninth time that the university has finished in the top four over the past decade. LU varsity programs captured a total of seven national championships and 17 conference titles in 2008-09. In addition to athletic success, many student-athletes achieved acclaim in the classroom and are active in the community. Over 150 student-athletes were recognized as Heart of America Athletic Conference Scholar Athletes while ten varsity teams were recognized as NAIA Scholar Teams. Sponsoring forty-six sports, Lindenwood offers athletic opportunities to over 1,500 student-athletes.
Minnesota State University-Moorhead, NCAA Division II, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference - located in Moorhead, Minnesota. There were 58 student-athletes named to the Academic All-Conference Team, 6 Academic All-Americans in track, 6 All-Americans in wrestling, indoor and outdoor track and the swimming and diving team finished 7th in DII academic standings. There was one NCAA postgraduate scholarship award winner last season.
Nazareth College, NCAA Division III, Empire 8 Conference - located in Rochester, New York. Nazareth athletes fared well in 2008-09 as the Golden Flyers won an Empire 8 Conference title in men's lacrosse and were also represented at the NCAA championships by men's cross country, women's soccer and women's swimming. Nazareth also produced All-Americans in men's cross country, women's volleyball, men's basketball and men's lacrosse. In the classroom, Nazareth student-athletes posted a cumulative grade-point average of 3.139 for the spring 2009 semester, a number that surpasses the grade-point average of Nazareth's overall student body.
Simpson College, NCAA Division III, Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - located in Indianola, Iowa. Simpson College continues to have tremendous success in the classroom while pursuing team championships. Simpson's athletics program saw seven sports receive national team academic awards from leading organizations in each respective sport. On top of team recognition, 74 individual student-athletes earned All-Iowa Conference academic selections. Highlighting the field were the women's basketball and track and field teams. The women's basketball team finished with the No. 7 GPA in the nation while making a fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, while the women's track and field team also completed the school year with the seventh-highest GPA in the nation. The academic accolades Simpson received during the 2008-09 seasons complemented five All-Americans, eight all-region selections and 64 All-Iowa Conference picks.
University of Alabama-Huntsville, NCAA Division II, Gulf South Conference - located in Huntsville, Alabama. The athletic program secured an overall season record of 290-206-10 representing five teams in NCAA Championship play. The Charger softball team advanced to the Division II finals and were ranked No. 1 in the nation for four weeks making its 12th appearance in the NCAA tournament. The men's cross country team advanced to the Division II National Championships, along with women's individual qualifier Gwen Kyser. Kyser became the first UAH individual to ever qualify for the Nationals. In Charger hockey, UAH led the CHA in attendance for the ninth straight year. Several athletes earned All-Conference, All-Region and National honors. Twenty-six (26) individuals were named All-GSC. Ten (10) other Chargers earned All-Region or All-District honors and five (4) athletes (Beth Lawson - softball; Kristina Prater - softball; Caitlin Lee - softball; and Sage Woodham - softball) received All-America recognition. Off the field, 25 athletes earned GSC/CHA academic accolades, while 52 others made the GSC honor roll. 88 athletes ended the season with a GPA of 3.0 or better.
University of Findlay, NCAA Division II, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference - located in Findlay, Ohio. Home to the 2008-2009 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Champions and the IHSA Western Equestrian National Champions. Josh Bostic was named the NCAA DII Men's Basketball Player of the Year and Ron Niekamp coach of the year. Athletes from 5 varsity teams were recognized as Academic All-Americans. There were 19 track athletes that qualified for Indoor/Outdoor Nationals and 2 GLIAC Freshmen of the Year in men's golf and tennis. Women's basketball raised over $1,300 for the Kay Yow/WBA Cancer Fund respectively.
University of Kansas, NCAA Division I, Big 12 Conference - located in Lawrence, Kansas. For the first time in school history, Kansas football won its second straight bowl game (Insight Bowl) posting 20 victories over the last two seasons. In 2009, Kansas men's basketball won its fifth straight, ninth Big 12 and NCAA-leading 52nd overall conference title last season. KU men's basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the third straight year. Kansas women's basketball advanced to the WNIT championship game before a Big 12 and school record-setting crowd of over 16,100 in Allen Fieldhouse. The Kansas soccer team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time and the baseball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years. Overall their were 390 Athletics Director's Honor Roll students, 105 Academic All-Big 12 selections, 10 Academic All-Americans and 14 Athletic All-Americans for the 2008-2009 season.
University of Kentucky, NCAA Division I, Southeastern Conference - located in Lexington, Kentucky. The athletic program ranked 34th overall in the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors Cup standings in 2008-09. Runner-up finish by both the Rifle team and Track & Field athlete Rondel Sorrillo at NCAA Championships. It was the softball program's first ever NCAA Tournament trip and the third consecutive bowl victory for the football team (Liberty Bowl). The men's soccer team ranked 21st in the country last season and it was the 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance by the women's tennis team. Men's and women's swimming and diving as well as men's tennis qualified for NCAA Championships while the women's golf team made its first tournament appearance in almost nine seasons. The volleyball team capped off an exciting season with a 26-6 overall record and 4th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tourney. Academically, UK placed 60 student-athletes on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll (most of any SEC school), 45 student-athletes on the Winter Academic Honor Roll (most of any SEC school) and also had a total of 53 athletes named to the Spring 2009 SEC Academic Honor Roll. Approximately 3000 hours of community service were recorded in the community and surrounding areas by UK athletes including the "Cats Cultivating Character" program, which completed its eighth year in May.
University of Massachusetts, NCAA Division I, Atlantic-10 Conference - located in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Atlantic 10 named 1,164 total student-athletes and 91 UMass student-athletes to the Commissioner's Cup and honored those student-athletes who have achieved a 3.5 grade point average or higher. The women's track & field team tallied the most honorees with 19 members. Following the women's track & field team, rowing came in second with 16 honorees. Women's soccer and men's track & field named 11 athletes each to the list. 7 teams won their conference championship in 2008-2009 including cross country, field hockey, Crew, Men's and Women's Lacrosse
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, NCAA Division III, Wisconsin Intercollegiate athletic Conference - located in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Whitewater was 5th in NACDA Directors' Cup All-Sport Trophy Standings as 14 teams qualified for post-season competition. 2nd place in football and 3rd place in Gymnastics. Three coaches and two players advanced on to become national coaches and players of the year. The 2008-2009 season also produced four conference team champions and The men's outdoor Track & Field placed 9th in the nation at the NCAA DIII Championships. A considerable amount of student-athletes came away with nothing less than a 3.0 Grade Point Average in the classroom this year.
Upper Iowa University, NCAA Division II, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference - located in Fayette, Iowa. The Upper Iowa wrestling team brought forth a 10th place finish in the National Tournament and the women's golf team reached an 8th place finish in the National Tournament. The women's golf team became regional champions and there were 5 Academic All-Americans, 47 Academic All-Conference and 141 on Athletic Director's Honor Roll at Upper Iowa.
