By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information and OVC Media Relations
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – There's so many factors that go into how the game gets played, but one thing Tennessee Tech football has prided itself in doing is making sure they play the game the right way with respect for their opponents.
For the fifth straight year, the membership of the Ohio Valley Conference agreed, awarding the Golden Eagles with their sixth Team Sportsmanship Award for football.
The award is voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of their respective sports and bestowed upon the team deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by both the OVC and the NCAA. The conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff, administrators and fans is included in the evaluation.
"We are indeed proud to receive this honor for the fifth consecutive year," said Tennessee Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander. "Wearing the Purple and Gold and wearing the Tennessee Tech name brings a set of responsibilities and a standard to live up to. Those extend far beyond the reach of the football field. Our goal is to shape and mold these student-athletes into excellent young men who will be our future leaders.
"Our players show that in the countless hours working within Cookeville and the Upper Cumberland community with community service projects. Our student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom and reach new heights. They are leaders in the classroom, on the field and on the campus."
Alexander continued, "Our student-athletes are appreciative of what it means to be a part of this program and how important it is to do things the right way."
The 2022-23 academic year marks the 18th year of the team sportsmanship awards with the Golden Eagles winning the award in football in 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
"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 say 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."
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.
"We are thrilled to celebrate our student-athletes' achievements on- and off-the-field," said Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. "Dewayne continues to do a tremendous job in instructing these young men not only while they are here, but also into a successful life after football."
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.
Photo | Ryan Weaver
