Murray State University Athletics
Murray State Wins OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards For Men’s & Women’s Tennis
5/16/2011 12:01:56 PM | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
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.
“Without sportsmanship there are truly no meaningful victories,” said Beth DeBauche, OVC Commissioner. “The recipients of the OVC Team Sportsmanship awards should accept this award with great pride for their fellow competitors have made it clear their teams exemplify the best in intercollegiate athletics. In receiving this prestigious honor other competitors are saying these student-athletes compete with class, respect their opponents and value fair play. That is quite a compliment as those are all traits that will lead to true victories throughout the course of life.”
The 2010-11 school year marks the sixth year the team sportsmanship honors have been awarded. It marks the third time the MSU men's program has won the award and fourth time (and third year in a row) the Racers women's program has been honored.
The Murray State men's team was the No. 6 seed in this year's OVC Championship and lost a close match in the first round.
The Racers women's team compiled a 5-3 OVC mark in 2010-11, which tied them for third in the Conference. The squad lost 4-3 in the first round of the OVC Championship.
"We are happy that our teams have earned the OVC Sportsmanship awards,” Murray State head coaches Mel Purcell and Connie Keasling said in a joint statement. “We always want the team to represent Murray State with class and in a professional manner. While every coach would rather win a conference championship this award is an honor that shows the attitude that we instill in our athletes at Murray State.”
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 status 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.
