Trinity Athletics earns Champions of Character designation from NAIA

Deerfield, Ill. - Trinity International University athletic coaches today were presented with the Silver Five-Star Champions of Character award from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Only 19 of the 250 NAIA-member schools received a higher designation than Trinity. Conference committees compile data for making the awards decisions each year. The designations include gold, silver, and bronze levels.

The award places Trinity among the top 91 athletic departments in the NAIA with respect to "character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion," according to an NAIA news release.

Institutions receive points based on "exceptional student-athlete grade point averages and by having minimal to no ejections during competition throughout the course of the academic year," the release said.

"We are excited to receive this honor from the NAIA," Trinity Director of Athletics Michael Gorsline said. "Using athletics as a platform to teach important life lessons and to build character is incredibly important to us."

Gorsline pointed to examples of public service that are evident with individual teams at Trinity:

• The football team has been working with an organization called Bright Hope that fights human trafficking in India and other countries around the world

• Members of the men's and women's soccer teams organized a youth clinic last Spring for children in the Deerfield area

• The men's and women's basketball teams volunteered with Special Olympics Illinois

• Baseball supported local food pantries at the Private Label Trade Show

• Volleyball performed a service project with a shelter for homeless women