The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) is proud to annually announce its Sportsmanship and Inspirational Award Winners.

The sportsmanship award is presented annually (if applicable) to a Female Student-Athlete, Male Student-Athlete, Female Team, Male Team, and one Institutional Winner. These winners have consistently demonstrated good sportsmanship and ethical behavior in his/her/their daily participation in intercollegiate athletics. They have exemplified the values of respect, caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility, while also demonstrating good citizenship outside the sports setting.

The inspirational award is presented annually (if applicable) to an individual(s) who has(have) endured personal hardship(s) that have led to bravery and/or dedication within athletics through participation, volunteerism, coaching, and/or administrating.

In 2006-2007, The NEAC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee worked together to create and foster a new sense of sportsmanship throughout the conference. They created the NEAC sportsmanship statement and slogan which is endorsed throughout the conference:

“The student-athletes of the North Eastern Athletic Conference uphold the responsibility
of sportsmanship by demonstrating leadership, positive attitudes, and respect so that all
collegiate participants will maintain the integrity and character of the conference.
We strive to achieve these ideals through a commitment to fair and honest competition.”

“Stay Classy NEAC!!!”



Past Award Winners:
2010-11 Sportsmanship and Inspirational Award Recipients
2008-09 Sportsmanship Award Recipients (No Male Team selection for Sportsmanship Award and no selection for Inspirational Award)
2006-07 Sportsmanship and Inspirational Award Recipients (No Male Team selection for Sportsmanship Award)

*No selections made for either award in 2009-10 and 2007-08

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2010-11 NEAC Sportsmanship & Inspirational Award Winners

The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) announces the 2010-11 sportsmanship and inspirational award winners.*  SUNY Morrisville junior men's lacrosse player Thomas Longland receives the Male Sportsmanship Award.  In the team category, the Penn State Abington Women's Tennis Team receives the Female Team Sportsmanship Award.  Inspirational awards were presented to both Gallaudent University head women's basketball coach Kevin Cook and SUNYIT sophomore baseball standout Michael Rose.

Thomas Longland (Dunnville, Ontario, Canada), SUNY Morrisville State College, Men's Ice Hockey & Lacrosse

Thomas Longland is a two-sport student-athlete at SUNY Morrisville State College (ice hockey and men's lacrosse) and has extended his sportsmanship and leadership abilities beyond the playing fields.  A great competitor and motivator, Longland has the utmost respect of opponents and officials, often communicating with officials on the playing field.  Officials have made numerous comments to coaching staff members about how approachable he is in conflict situations and the level of respect he has for not only the game but opponents as well.  He has taken on several initiatives in regards to teammates and fellow student-athletes to demonstrate a positive sportsmanship model during and at athletic events.

Aside from competing on two intercollegiate athletic teams at Morrisville, Longland also excels in the classroom, earning numerous academic accolades, and is very active in the campus and surrounding community.  He serves as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has initiated a "Mustang Pride" campaign, encouraging other student-athletes to demonstrate positive sportsmanship methods while attending athletic events and supporting fellow student-athletes.  He also serves as the community service coordinator for Morrisville State, spearheading several community service initiatives, including a campus-wide community service program called "Into the Streets".  Longland started the Triple M Program (Morrisville Mustang Mentors) with the local elementary school, combining athletics with academics.  The program connects student-athletes at Morrisville State with elementary school children to serve as mentors, read to and teach math skills to, who may lack adult support at home.  Longland was also involved in the men's ice hockey "Saves For A Cure" program, raising more than $6,000 to aid children suffering from cancer, and the men's lacrosse Wounded Warrior Project, which raised more than $2,800 for injured veterans.  Longland also serves as a peer tutor in the Academic Enrichment Center.

Thomas Longland receives the 2010-2011 NEAC Male Individual Sportsmanship Award.

Penn State University - Abington Women's Tennis Team

The Penn State Abington women’s tennis team demonstrated good sportsmanship throughout their season.  They were a team that respected themselves, each other, and each of their opponents as well as were gracious in both wins and losses.     The women’s tennis team competed in the 2010-2011 season.  They played 3 matches in the fall of 2010 and 10 matches in the spring of 2011. Their overall record was 8-5 and 4-2 in the NEAC.  They captured a #3 seed in the NEAC Championships and had 5 student-athletes selected to All-Conference teams.  Penn State Abington's women tennis team is coached by David Sheaffer who just completed his third season with the team.

The women’s tennis team’s ethical behavior was impeccable.   They were always on their best behavior both at home, in the classroom and on the road.   They represented the Penn State Abington women’s tennis program, Penn State Abington Athletics, Penn State Abington, themselves, and their families with class and respect.   There were a total of nine student-athletes on the team who showed up for every practice and match (both home and away) and competed each time to the best of their abilities.  They were a great unit that encouraged their teammates when they played well or played poorly. 

There were six student-athletes that made the Penn State Abington 2011 Spring Director’s List.  The Director’s List featured student-athletes from all 14 varsity sports who maintained a semester GPA of a 3.0 or higher.      

The Penn State Abington tennis program runs clinics throughout the year, weather permitting.   The clinics are for kids ages 4-14 and for adults 18 and over.   The members of the women’s tennis team participate in the kids’ clinics to help teach them the proper techniques as well as how to be a good teammate when it comes to tennis.  They are also there to be role models for the younger kids in our community to show them that if you stick with something you can be successful at it.

The Penn State Abington Women’s Tennis Team receives the 2010-2011 NEAC Female Team Sportsmanship Award. 

 

Michael Rose (Chatham, NY), SUNY Institute of Technology, Baseball

SUNYIT sophomore Michael Rose had an incredible season for the SUNYIT baseball team this year, not just because of the numbers he put up, but also for overcoming the personal hardship he has to do endure before every contest.  Michael was born without a bone in his right thumb, which caused him to require multiple surgeries on his right hand as a baby.  Doctors had to remove the skin from his thumb since there was no bone developed, and also had to perform an additional operation in order to straighten the other four fingers.  Due to this obstacle, Michael has to perform hand stretching exercises before taking the mound so his hand wont lock up, while also having to strongly tighten his glove to keep it from falling off of his hand, since gripping it is so difficult with the use of just four fingers.  Additionally, he needs to use an outfielder’s glove in order to have a bigger pocket to help with fielding and catching the ball.

Despite this hardship, Michael was not only one of the best pitchers on the team but one of the best in the nation as well.  At one point this season, he led all of Division III in earned run average and finished the year ranked 11th in the country after registering a 1.31 ERA on the season.  That ERA total also landed him in the SUNYIT baseball program’s record book, as it was the lowest ERA ever recorded among Wildcats with at least 40 innings pitched.  He also finished the year with three complete games and two shutouts, which were both team bests, while striking out 28 batters through 41.1 innings pitched.  His dominant pitching was a major reason why the team finished fourth in the nation in earned run average and seventh in hits allowed per nine innings, as well as a major factor in the  team claiming a share of the NEAC West Division regular season championship.  All of the abovementioned accomplishments were also good enough to land him on the NEAC All-Conference Third Team and capped off what was truly a remarkable season for Rose.  “Michael had a phenomenal first year as one of our top pitchers during a record breaking season,” said Head Coach Kevin Edick.  “He is a pleasure to coach and is one of the hardest working student-athletes we have.  He is truly an inspiration to the team and the entire athletics department.”

Michael Rose receives the 2010-2011 NEAC Inspirational Award.

 

Kevin Cook, Gallaudet University, Women's Basketball Head Coach

Gallaudet University women’s basketball head coach Kevin Cook is a unique individual that is humble, a teacher, friend, and one that sees the bright side of anything negative.  Cook’s story is one that fuels courage and hope as he currently deals with his Parkinson’s disease while also dealing with the loss of his best friend, his sister, who perished in a house fire.  Cook dealt with these matters while leading Gallaudet University, the nation’s deaf and hard of hearing University, to the best start in program history (dating back to 1896) as the Bison started the year 20-0 and finished the season in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999.

Cook guided the Bison to one of their best seasons ever as Gallaudet posted a 24-4 record and earned their third bid to the NCAA tournament in program history.  The Bison were nationally ranked for over a month reaching as high as No. 18 in the coaches’ poll.  In their first season in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC), the Bison posted a 20-2 conference mark and earned a share of the regular-season conference title with Keuka College.  Cook coached NEAC Player of the Year and eventual Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), D3hoops.com, and Women’s DII News All-American Easter Faafiti. The senior forward/center went on to capture more than 20 different awards from all-conference first team honors to all-region first team honors, and ECAC Division III South Player of the Year.

For his efforts, Cook earned NEAC Coach of the Year, Division III Region 3 Coach of the Year and was named a finalist for the 2011 Russell Athletic Division III National Coach of the Year award. 

Cook and the Bison were featured nationally and internationally on multiple media platforms, as Gallaudet became the media darlings of NCAA women’s basketball in 2010-11.  The Bison were seen on ABC World News Tonight, CBS News with Katie Couric, ESPN College Game Day, Global TV of Canada, Comcast Sportsnet in Washington, D.C., National Public Radio, WRC NBC 4 in D.C. and WTTG Fox 5 in D.C. as well as being written up by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Parade Magazine, and the Washington Post.  Cook has also been profiled several times by newspapers in his native Ohio including the Dayton Daily News and the Fremont News-Messenger.

This past spring, Cook went back to his Alma Mater Urbana University where he was the commencement speaker.  Cook has also worked with the United States State Department to hold clinics for coaches from different countries including Russia, Germany to name a few.  He has also spoken at different schools for the Deaf.

Cook was honored in 2010 with the prestigious Carol Eckman Award presented by the WBCA.  He became the 25th recipient of the award that is presented annually to an active WBCA coach who exemplifies Eckman's spirit, integrity, and character through sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage, and dedication to purpose.  The award is named in honor of the late Carol Eckman, the former West Chester State College coach who is considered the "Mother of the Women's Collegiate Basketball Championship."  Eckman organized the first women's basketball championship at West Chester in 1969 and continued to garner recognition and support for the women's game until her death from cancer in 1985.  Cook was the first Division III coach to be honored since the award's inception in 1986 when Laura Mapp from Bridgewater (Va.) College was selected as the first honoree of the Carol Eckman Award.

On December 10, 2009, a house fire claimed the life of his sister, 47-year-old Kelly Preston, in Helena, Ohio.  Preston was able to save her 16-year-old daughter and 3-month-old grandson before her passing.  The Gallaudet community along with Capitol Athletic Conference (CAC) schools and officials rallied to help Cook and his family by collecting clothing and cash donations for the displaced family.  It was Kelly who helped Kevin out with his Parkinson’s when he was diagnosed after his first season at Gallaudet (2007-08).  He admits that there is not a day that goes by that he doesn’t think about his sister.  There were times during the 2010-11 season as the team continued to win and earned national media attention that he would call his sister’s old cell phone number and leave a message to tell her the exciting news.

While dealing with his sister’s death, the Bison finished with a winning record (14-12) for the first time in a decade and advanced to the Capital Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2006-07.  Gallaudet  won more games during the 2009-10 season then the previous three years combined.  The 7-9 conference record was the best since the 9-5 mark set by the 1999-00 team.  The seven conferences wins are the fourth most in Gallaudet history since it has been a member of the CAC.  In fact, the seven wins equals the total amount of conference wins the Bison had over the past nine years combined (7-123).  That was the last season for Gallaudet in the CAC after it helped to form the conference in 1989 as a charter member.  Also during the 2009-10 season he finished his master’s degree from Gallaudet University and completed his fourth American Sign Language (ASL) class. 

Cook arrived in Washington, D.C. after he served as an assistant coach with the Houston Comets for 11 years where he was part of four WNBA championships.  He also served as a coach on four different WNBA All-Star teams.  Prior to coaching in the WNBA, Cook served as an assistant coach with the University of Kansas from 1984-93.  Cook was part of four Big 8 championship teams that made four trips to the NCAA tournament.  In between his stints with Houston and Kansas, Cook coached two years at Garden City Community College where he led the program to a No. 12 national junior college ranking.

Cook's international experience is vast, as he has served as the Nigeria women's basketball national team head coach for the past several years.  He guided Nigeria in the 2006 World Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The following year he coached Nigeria in the 2007 All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria where Nigeria posted a 7-1 record and won the silver medal.  In the past five years, he has visited six African countries where he has hosted basketball fundamental clinics for coaches and players.  He also served as a coach of several traveling teams, including teams that have traveled to Brazil and Russia, and coached a traveling team that defeated the University of Connecticut in 2001.
The Fremont, Ohio, native is a proud graduate of Urbana University (Ohio) where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in social science in 1983. He received his master's degree from Gallaudet University in May 2010. He also runs the Kevin Cook Basketball Academy - www.cookbball.com.


Kevin Cook receives the 2010-2011 NEAC Inspirational Award.


*Content courtesy of SUNY Morrisville, Penn State - Abington, SUNY Institute of Technology, and Gallaudet University Athletic Programs.

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