Courtney Van Haaften | Sports Co-Editor
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the NCAA, and to honor its student-athletes, Buena Vista University (BVU) will be holding several events starting April 7 to raise awareness about Division III athletes and all they do for the university on and off the field of play.
BVU has 354 student-athletes across 19 offered sports. Last year, BVU placed 62 student-athletes on the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) 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.
“I enjoy being a student-athlete because I get to play the sport that I love while making lifelong friendships. It gives me opportunities that I may not have had otherwise,” junior volleyball player Jordan Henningsen said.
On Monday, April 7, a link will be released to BVU students, faculty, and staff that provides a quiz they can take about the NCAA, the IIAC, and BVU athletics. The first 50 individuals who score 80% correct on the quiz will win a free t-shirt, compliments of the BVU athletics office.
On Thursday, April 10, all student-athletes are welcomed to come to the Lamberti Recreation Center between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and receive a free gift of a water bottle and help themselves to various refreshments. This allows the university to show their appreciation for the students’ hard work both on and off the field of play. Student-athletes can also submit their name to win a door prize. One name will be drawn at the end of the event, and the winner will be notified via email by 1:30 p.m.
“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 or 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.
To wrap up the events, an ACES event will be held on Monday, April 14. This will highlight current students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the university that participate or have participated in athletics during their time at BVU. They will share their experiences as Division III athletes and how things have changed throughout the years. This will be held in Hansen 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of NCAA
