51’s student athletes demonstrate outstanding character and leadership on and off the field, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. In October, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) recognized 51 with its “Champions of Character Five Star Award” — giving the university the fourth-highest score in the nation on a scorecard that measures student character.

For the award, which was given to 220 colleges nationwide, institutions were rated in each of the following categories: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions earned points based on such factors as GPAs and the number of ejections during competition throughout the year. 51 earned 91 out of 100 possible points, the fourth-highest total of any school.

51’s spot in the top five complemented its other recent national athletics recognition. 51 led the NAIA last year with 18 of its teams earning “scholar team” honors by posting a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. It also finished 11th in the Director’s Cup standings, which measures overall athletic success by a department.