CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Mid-American Conference announced today, Aug. 29, the presentation of the Cartwright Award to Eastern Michigan University for its program excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship during the 2013-14 school year. The Cartwright Award will be presented to EMU Saturday, Aug. 30, during the Eagles’ home football game against Morgan State University at 6 p.m. inside Rynearson Stadium.
“The Cartwright Award is a unique award in that it recognizes excellence not only on the field of play, but also in the classroom and in community,” said MAC Commissioner Dr. Jon Steinbrecher. “To be selected by its peers for this award is a tremendous honor for Eastern Michigan University. I applaud the student-athletes, coaches and entire staff for this special honor.”
The Cartwright Award is an institutional award presented annually to one university in the MAC. A committee with representation from all 12 institutions selected the Cartwright Award winner from nominations submitted based upon the criteria of excellence in academics, athletics and citizenship. The award began in 2008-09. This is the first time EMU has received the honor.
“Winning the Cartwright Award is an outstanding demonstration of the importance Eastern Michigan University places on helping to develop young men and women into caring, responsible and successful adults,” said University President Susan Martin. “It reflects our emphasis on success in all areas of the university experience — in the classroom, in the community, and on the playing field. I would like to thank Vice President and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke, her team of coaches and staff, and our dedicated faculty, for their support of our student athletes. This has been a tremendous year for Eastern Michigan Athletics, and I am proud of our student athletes for achieving this wonderful honor.”
The Cartwright Award is named in honor of Carol A. Cartwright, Ph.D., one of the most highly respected voices in higher education. Cartwright served as the president of Kent State from 1991-06 and president of Bowling Green State University from 2008-11. Cartwright previously was the vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at the Pennsylvania State University. She has served on the NCAA Board of Directors and is a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Cartwright Award as it is a testament to our student-athletes’, coaches’ and staff’s commitment to the three pillars of the student-athlete experience,” added Lyke. “Academics, athletics and community service are a constant focus in guiding our priorities within the department. The award also represents the extraordinary support we receive from our University and community partners. I would like to thank Dr. Steinbrecher, the MAC staff and our colleagues in the MAC for recognizing our accomplishments.”
Previous Cartwright Award winners include: Central Michigan University (2008-09), Kent State University, (2009-10 and 2012-13), Western Michigan University (2010-11) and the University of Toledo (2011-12).
Even though the award marks just the first Cartwright Award for EMU, it is not the school’s first award for overall excellence. The department has taken possession of the Reese Trophy four times (1987-88, 1990-91, 1995-96, and 2007-08) as the league’s top men’s athletics program. The Reese Trophy is named for former MAC Commissioner David E. Reese, the first-ever MAC Commissioner who served the league from its inception in 1946 until retiring in 1964.
Below is a brief summary of the accomplishments by Eastern Michigan University in each of the three areas of academic, athletic and citizenship excellence:
EMU Academic Summary (2013-14):
• Student-athletes earned the highest semester GPA in school history during the Fall of 2013 semester with a 3.159 and also turned in the third highest cumulative GPA after the Fall with a 3.189.
• After the Winter 2014 semester, Eastern Michigan’s semester GPA of 3.145 was the second highest semester GPA in history while the cumulative GPA of 3.187 was the fourth highest in school history.
• A total of 67 student-athletes that earned a 4.0 GPA last year.
• There were 371 (68%) of our student-athletes had a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher at the end of the academic year.
• A total of 15,621 credits were attempted throughout the academic year and a total of 15,054 were successfully completed for a 96% completion rate.
• Baseball and volleyball received NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards. This was the second straight year the volleyball team was honored and the first time for the baseball.
• The volleyball team posted a perfect 1,000 single-year APR rate.
• All athletic programs had a multi-year APR rate above 940.
• Seven different teams equaled or exceeded their best multi-year APR score.
• The federal graduation rate for Eastern Michigan student-athletes was 64%, which tied the highest mark from 2009-10 and is a 4% improvement over the previous year.
• The Graduation Success Rate for Eastern Michigan student-athletes is 77%, which is another record set by the student-athletes.
• Football’s Cy Maughmer and Women’s Soccer’s Stephanie Clarke were presented the MAC’s Medal of Excellence Award.
• Eastern Michigan had 39 student-athletes recognized for Academic All-MAC honors and 56 additional student-athletes earned honorable mention accolades.
• A total of eight student-athletes were selected for the prestigious weekly MAC Scholar Athlete Award.
• Three student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.
EMU Athletic Summary (2013-14):
• Eastern Michigan claimed MAC men’s titles in cross country and outdoor track and field, while the men’s swimming and diving team finished as MAC runner-ups.
• Women’s soccer won the MAC regular season championship
• Volleyball played in the MAC Tournament Championship game for the first time since 1990.
• 24 individual MAC titles were won in track and field and swimming and diving. A total of 34 student-athletes on to the NCAA Championships.
• A total of 64 student-athletes earned All-MAC honors (39-first team; 21-second team; 4-third team).
• Eastern Michigan student-athletes were recognized on 49 occasions for Player of the Week accolades in 19 of 21 sports.
• Three coaches earned MAC Coach of the Year, including John Goodridge (Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Outdoor Track and Field), Scott Hall (Women’s Soccer) and Buck Smith (Men’s Swimming and Diving).
• Eight different student-athletes collected MAC Player of the Year honors, including Angela Vultaggio (women’s soccer – offensive), Emily Dzik (women’s soccer – co-defensive), Danielle Hulvey (women’s swimming – most outstanding diver), Sarah Chauchard (women’s indoor track – outstanding field performance), Victoria Voronko (women’s indoor track and women’s outdoor – most valuable performance), Da’Shonte Riley (men’s basketball – defensive) and Tyler Brown (men’s outdoor track – most valuable player). Also, Max Babits and Sarah Chauchard each earned first team All-American honors.
• Men’s basketball qualified for the CollegeInsider.com Tournament en route to winning 22 games. The total was the most since the 1996-97 season, while also making its way to the MAC Tournament Semifinals for the first time since 1997-98.
• Men’s basketball also earned the NCAA Statistical Championship for field goal percentage defense. The Eagles held teams to just a 36.9 field goal percentage. Eastern Michigan allowed opponents to score just 61.4 points per contest, which was 16th in the nation, while blocking the 10th most shots per contest at six per game.
• Women’s basketball tied for 17th nationally of most improved Division I programs. The Eagles finished 18-14 with an increase of 10 wins and a nine-game improvement in overall record. The one-year turnaround is the second largest in program history.
• Women’s basketball player Cha Sweeney was selected as the MAC’s Freshman of the Year, along with earning Second Team All-MAC honors and All-Freshman Team accolades. Sweeney shattered the school all-time freshman scoring record and finished three points shy of the MAC freshman scoring record.
• Volleyball’s Paige Roback became just the seventh Eagle to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, while Erin Short was the fifth student-athlete in school history to notch 1,000 kills and 300 block assists. Short was also the first-ever non-middle blocker to accomplish this feat.
• EMU had the highest finish in the NACDA Directors’ Cup in the MAC finishing the year in 135th place with 116 points.
EMU Citizenship Summary (2013-14):
• During the 2013-14 academic year approximately 2,000 volunteer hours were served by Eastern Michigan student-athletes.
• The Athletics Department started a new initiative with the 2nd & 7 Foundation’s ‘Tackling Illiteracy’ program. In total, six different Ypsilanti elementary schools were visited by over 200 Eastern Michigan student-athletes, including 24 second grade classrooms and over 700 second grade students were provided books through the Foundation.
• The annual Jock Jamz, a student-athlete talent show, raised $950 for the Ypsilanti Community Schools Foundation.
• The SAAC also spearheaded an effort to support the Angel Tree Program with the local Salvation Army to deliver gifts for children during the holidays.
• The football team participated in the first annual EMU Victory Day on June 27th. The coaches and student-athletes hosted 22 cognitively and physically impaired children at Rynearson Stadium. The children participated in football related activities and presented a medal at the end of the day.
• The women’s soccer team deemed their Sept. 22 match as Cancer Awareness Day, as over $5,000 was raised and donated to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition.
• The softball and women’s golf teams visited the Ann Arbor VA Hospital and delivered Valentine’s Day cards.
• The wrestling team purchased all of the supplies and ingredients to serve dinner to approximately 40 people at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor.
• The women’s swimming team made and donated blankets to children at Mott Hospital.
• The women’s gymnastics team participated in the ‘Get Off Your Glass’ community outreach event where they cleaned up school playgrounds and parks in the community.
• The women’s basketball team spent time at Glacier Hills Retirement Home and with the local Special Olympics.
• Eastern Michigan sponsored and hosted the American Heart Association Hear Walk on May 10, 2014. Many teams participated in the 5K walk to raise money and awareness for heart disease. As a University, over 4,000 participated and raised over $33,000 for the Heart Association which surpassed our participation and fundraising goals.
Source: http://www.emueagles.com/news/2014/8/28/GEN_0828145922.aspx?path=gen
