INDIANAPOLIS – Maryville University has been named as the recipient of the GLVC James R. Spalding Overall Sportsmanship Award for the 2015-16 season, it was announced by the league office Wednesday. In addition, 20 teams – one per sport – and 32 student-athletes – one male and one female per school – were named Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners as well.

Prior to the April 13 namesake change announcement, the GLVC Sportsmanship Award was presented to one team in each of the GLVC’s 20 sports, as well as one male and one female student-athlete at the end of the academic year who had distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The voting process had previously been coordinated through each institution’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) since the award’s inception in the 2007-08 academic season.

Now, each institution – through the head coach – names one award honoree in each sport sponsored. These individual sport honorees became candidates for the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award. Each institution then selected one male and one female student-athlete from its season-long list of honorees to be named as James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners. Following this announcement, one letter of institutional recommendation must be submitted for each winner, showing how they have displayed exemplary conduct of fairness, graciousness, and respect toward teammates, opposing teams, coaches, and officials before, during, and after competition as a representative of the GLVC and their institution. The Conference office will then select one male and one female from the 32 winners as the GLVC nominees for the NCAA Sportsmanship Award.

Furthermore, during the initial nomination process, each institution’s coach will rank the top-three teams within the sport that best displayed good sportsmanship throughout the season. The team with the highest point total is then named that sport’s James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award winner. At the conclusion of the academic year, the institution that accumulated the highest point total across all sports will be named the James R. Spalding Overall Sportsmanship Award winner.

This accolade is Maryville’s first-ever GLVC Sportsmanship Award. Under the direction of Director of Athletics Marcus Manning, the Saints accumulated the most points during the 2015-16 season, featuring team sportsmanship wins in women’s cross country and women’s outdoor track and field, as well as men’s soccer.

The University of Indianapolis and Lewis University also raked in three program wins. Lewis took top honors in women’s indoor and outdoor track and field as well as men’s outdoor track and field, while UIndy won for football, men’s indoor track and field and women’s swimming. William Jewell College (volleyball, men’s swimming), Truman State University (football, baseball) and Quincy University (men’s and women’s tennis) followed with two top teams. The other honorees included the University of Illinois Springfield men’s cross country team, the Saint Joseph’s College women’s soccer program, the Rockhurst University women’s basketball squad, McKendree University’s men’s basketball team, Missouri S&T’s softball program, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men’s golf squad and the University of Southern Indiana women’s golf team.

Among the notables for the fall sport winners include Maryville’s first selection for its men’s soccer team and Illinois Springfield’s pick as the men’s cross country winners in its first season fielding a team in the sport. In the winter, Rockhurst earned its first-ever women’s basketball recognition, while the William Jewell men’s swimming and diving team has earned the distinction every year since the sport began sponsorship in the league in 2013-14. For spring teams, the UW-Parkside’s men’s golf program earned a league-record fourth laurel in the sport, while both Quincy golf teams were honored.

Maryville joins seven other schools – Bellarmine, Drury, Lewis, former league member Northern Kentucky University, Southern Indiana, UW-Parkside and William Jewell – as award winners in the nine-year period the honor has been presented. Northern Kentucky claimed the inaugural award in 2007-08, UW-Parkside earned it in 2008-09, Bellarmine claimed back-to-back titles in 2009-10 and 2010-11, Southern Indiana won the title for the 2011-12 academic year, Drury took home top honors in 2012-13, Lewis won from 2013-14 and William Jewell is the reigning winner from 2014-15.

2015-16 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS