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Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Twaddle, Strickland Honored By OVC
6/7/2017 9:22:00 AM | General, Softball
Murray State softball player Jessica Twaddle and former MSU and Belmont director of athletics Mike Strickland were recently honored by the Ohio Valley Conference at its annual Honors Brunch in Nashville. Twaddle was the recipient of the 2017 OVC Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, while Strickland was inducted into the OVC Hall of Fame.
The Steve Hamilton award is presented annually to an Ohio Valley Conference male or female student-athlete of junior or senior standing who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator Steve Hamilton.
Since beginning college, Twaddle has devoted her summers to working with Campus Outreach's Tampa Project, a program aimed at developing Christian leaders. This coming summer, she will be one of the project's eight leaders that oversees over 100 students over a 10 week period. She is also heavily involved in MSU's local chapter of Campus Outreach, where she serves as one of only three leaders. Twaddle spent six weeks in Thailand on a mission trip in 2015, where she taught English to college students.
This year, the two-time OVC Player of the Year and NFCA third-team All-American began serving as a peer mentor tutor with the university's disability services office. She is an integral part of annual SAAC Food Drive that benefits Murray residents each Holiday season and last year helped organize a team trip to help with Project Linus, an organization that makes blankets for terminally ill babies. She is also active in helping with Murray chapter of Best Buddies and helps organize annual field day with MSU softball, which has grown in each year since her involvement. For the 2017 season, Twaddle and her senior class introduced a new concept for Racer softball home games, "What's Your Why Weekends?" The concept behind the weekends were that throughout the season the seniors got to present causes they were passionate about to fans at MSU home games.
The Ohio Valley Conference organized a Hall of Fame in 1977. Membership is limited to coaches, administrators, faculty and staff members who have been associated with the OVC for at least five years and have had extensive outstanding service to the Conference.
During his tenure at Murray State, Strickland saw the Racers win 26 OVC regular season and tournament championships, including two OVC Men's All-Sport Trophies and three OVC Women's All-Sport Trophies. The MSU rifle team produced two NCAA Individual National Champions and the Racers men's basketball team claimed its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, topping North Carolina State in 1988. Strickland served on the NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee and the NCAA Rifle Committee during his tenure. He also helped improvement athletic facilities, including helping plan the CFSB Center which opened in 1998.
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At Belmont he helped the University transition from NAIA, to NCAA Division I Independent, to membership in the Atlantic Sun and eventually Ohio Valley Conference. He helped the Bruins win 45 conference championships, including nine during its first four years in the OVC. Strickland also oversaw the addition of six sports during his tenure including women's soccer, women's golf and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field.
Twaddle is now the first Racer to win the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship since men's basketball's Michael Turner won in 199-2000. For Strickland, he becomes the 12th inductee of the OVC Hall of Fame to go in under the Murray State banner.
The Steve Hamilton award is presented annually to an Ohio Valley Conference male or female student-athlete of junior or senior standing who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator Steve Hamilton.
Since beginning college, Twaddle has devoted her summers to working with Campus Outreach's Tampa Project, a program aimed at developing Christian leaders. This coming summer, she will be one of the project's eight leaders that oversees over 100 students over a 10 week period. She is also heavily involved in MSU's local chapter of Campus Outreach, where she serves as one of only three leaders. Twaddle spent six weeks in Thailand on a mission trip in 2015, where she taught English to college students.
This year, the two-time OVC Player of the Year and NFCA third-team All-American began serving as a peer mentor tutor with the university's disability services office. She is an integral part of annual SAAC Food Drive that benefits Murray residents each Holiday season and last year helped organize a team trip to help with Project Linus, an organization that makes blankets for terminally ill babies. She is also active in helping with Murray chapter of Best Buddies and helps organize annual field day with MSU softball, which has grown in each year since her involvement. For the 2017 season, Twaddle and her senior class introduced a new concept for Racer softball home games, "What's Your Why Weekends?" The concept behind the weekends were that throughout the season the seniors got to present causes they were passionate about to fans at MSU home games.
The Ohio Valley Conference organized a Hall of Fame in 1977. Membership is limited to coaches, administrators, faculty and staff members who have been associated with the OVC for at least five years and have had extensive outstanding service to the Conference.
During his tenure at Murray State, Strickland saw the Racers win 26 OVC regular season and tournament championships, including two OVC Men's All-Sport Trophies and three OVC Women's All-Sport Trophies. The MSU rifle team produced two NCAA Individual National Champions and the Racers men's basketball team claimed its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, topping North Carolina State in 1988. Strickland served on the NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee and the NCAA Rifle Committee during his tenure. He also helped improvement athletic facilities, including helping plan the CFSB Center which opened in 1998.
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At Belmont he helped the University transition from NAIA, to NCAA Division I Independent, to membership in the Atlantic Sun and eventually Ohio Valley Conference. He helped the Bruins win 45 conference championships, including nine during its first four years in the OVC. Strickland also oversaw the addition of six sports during his tenure including women's soccer, women's golf and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field.
Twaddle is now the first Racer to win the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship since men's basketball's Michael Turner won in 199-2000. For Strickland, he becomes the 12th inductee of the OVC Hall of Fame to go in under the Murray State banner.
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