Courtney Van Haaften | Sports Co-Editor
The kickoff of the Division III Athlete Week started on Saturday, April 6 with the mission of honoring student athletes for their contributions to the university and for what they do on and off the field.
On Friday, April 5 on Buena Vista University’s (BVU) campus, all student athletes were welcomed to go to the Lamberti Recreation Center and receive a free gift of a water bottle and various refreshments. The Athletic Department held this event to show their appreciation for the students’ hard work on and off the field. Along with the individual gifts, a raffle was also held for a gift basket which sophomore basketball player Becca Pennington won.
“Being a student athlete here at BVU helps me in becoming a more well-rounded person. It requires me to balance my time more efficiently, increases my competitive strive to be and do my best, and it holds me more accountable to my teammates, my coaches, my professors, my academics, and myself. We don’t receive scholarships to be a part of the athletic program, it’s our choice. It’s a duty and challenge that we take upon ourselves. Having the university put together this simple event really meant a lot to show how much they appreciate our representation of the university as student-athletes. This event helped remind me personally why I chose to be an athlete at the Division III collegiate level: purely for the love of the game,” Pennington said.
April 6, 2013 marked the 26th celebration of National Student Athlete Day, which was named by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA started recognizing this day in order to acknowledge the achievements of the student athletes nationwide and show appreciation for all of the positive effects they provide to their respective universities.
BVU is using this week as a way to share all of the positive things the student-athletes do for the community. BVU has 373 student-athletes across 19 offered sports. Last year, BVU placed 55 athletes on the Iowa Conference All-Academic team. These student-athletes are extremely involved in the community and also participate in many service opportunities to give back to the university. Some of these services include hosting clinics for young kids in the area, volunteering in after-school programs, score-keeping and officiating for local events, and helping coach various teams in the community.
“Athletics is an integral component to the holistic development of our BVU students, shown through the commitment the student-athletes, the coaches, and the administration demonstrate on a regular basis. I am so proud of every one of our student-athletes and his/her involvement around campus. Each is more than a student-athlete. The knowledge, leadership, cooperation and communication skill sets developed and refined through not only athletics but all aspects of BVU life and more importantly, the individual’s ability to apply them are part of what makes the student-athletes positive members of the BVU campus community,” Director of Athletics Christyn Abaray said.
During Buenafication Day on Tuesday, April 23, BVU student athletes will be holding a clinic for all the various sports offered to show support for the community. This will take place on the football field that afternoon.
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Photos by Tyson Domingo
