INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – On Wednesday afternoon, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II announced twenty-two member institutions as finalists for the 2023 Division II Award of Excellence, an accolade "recognizing initiatives in the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership," and among the conference winners is Southern Arkansas University Athletics which was honored as a result of the department's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee initiative "Muleriders for Micah."
 
"This is a great honor for our student-athletes who continue to do amazing things away from the arena of competition," noted SAU Director of Athletics Steve Browning, who helped bring about the department's community service engagement branch "Muleriders in Magnolia" which won the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence for Community Engagement in 2013.
 
Browning added, "Associate AD Sage Fowler, who spearheads our student-athlete advisory committee, along with our SAAC members and all of our student-athletes have done a tremendous job not only with this initiative but in giving back to the community in multiple ways this past year. This honor really shows the selfless attitude of our student-athletes and their desire to make a difference any way they can. It is also a testament to our community's never-ending support of the Muleriders and we are thankful that they stepped up to help us send Micah on a memorable zoo trip."
 
Per the NCAA release: Division II honors its members each year for conducting events that promote student-athletes giving back and serving as leaders within their communities or on their campuses. A committee of athletics administrators determined this year's finalists, and the national Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee selected the top three finalists, who will be announced at the Division II business session Jan. 14 at the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio.
 
Each finalist will receive $500. In addition, the winner will receive $2,500, the first runner-up will receive $1,250 and the second runner-up will receive $1,000. All prize money is intended to be used for future SAAC initiatives or community engagement events.
 
The following are the 2023 finalists, alphabetized by conference:
 
School: Caldwell University
Conference: Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
 
School: Roberts Wesleyan University
Conference: East Coast Conference
 
School: Southern Arkansas University
Conference: Great American Conference
 
Project: Muleriders for Micah. In early April 2022, members of SAU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), along with the generous help from several local restaurants, hosted "Muleriders for Micah" restaurant week where department restaurant partners graciously gave a portion of their earnings during lunch or dinner on a specific day to the fundraiser. Magnolia native Micah Gunnels, whose mother, Ashley, is a student at Southern Arkansas, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on December 31, 2020. Throughout his battle, which is now in a maintenance/remission stage following chemo treatments, he would often ask his mother if they could visit the zoo every time they had to make a trip to the hospital to get "poked." SAU's SAAC stepped in with the sole purpose of sending Micah to the zoo outside of a time when he visited the hospital in order to help create a more positive zoo experience. With the help of several local businesses, Mulerider student-athletes were able to raise $3,000 to send Micah and his family to the Memphis Zoo, making his wish come true.

School: Wayne State University (Michigan)
Conference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
 
School: Rockhurst University
Conference: Great Lakes Valley Conference
 
School: Walsh University
Conference: Great Midwest Athletic Conference
 
School: Western Oregon University
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
 
School: Lubbock Christian University
Conference: Lone Star Conference
 
School: Missouri Western State University
Conference: Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
 
School: Fairmont State University
Conference: Mountain East Conference
 
School: University of New Haven
Conference: Northeast-10 Conference
 
School: Minnesota State University Moorhead
Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
 
School: Hawaii Pacific University
Conference: Pacific West Conference
 
School: Georgia College
Conference: Peach Belt Conference
 
School: Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
Conference: Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference
 
School: Metropolitan State University of Denver
Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
 
School: Kentucky State University
Conference: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
 
School: The University of Virginia's College at Wise
Conference: South Athletic Conference
 
School: Nova Southeastern University
Conference: Sunshine State Conference
 
At-Large School: Cedarville University
 
At-Large School: Coker University
 
At-Large School: Newberry College
 
The SAAC initiative was part of the department's evergrowing community service platform "Muleriders in Magnolia" which in the 2022 fall semester alone recorded 3,145 hours of service to eight community organizations with an economic impact of $89,765 behind a department participation rate of 96%.