St. Cloud, Minn. - Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Commissioner Butch Raymond presented Bemidji State University Director of Athletics Dr. Rick Goeb with the league’s 2011-11 Sportsmanship Award July 13 at the NSIC’s annual Hall of Fame banquet.  The honor marks the second time in three years BSU has been selected for the award.

Each year, the award recipient is selected by a vote of NSIC head coaches and a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member based on the sportsmanship of players, fans, staff and coaches from each institution.

“This is a tremendous honor for our athletic department. Our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans are quickly developing a reputation for consistently exhibiting respect, civility, fairness and honesty in competition,” commented Goeb. “We are very proud of our coaches for modeling this behavior on a day-to-day basis and instilling this attitude in our student-athletes. We know that whether our teams are on the road or competing in our own venues, they represent the university well.”

“The NSIC is very excited about the competitive nature of our league, but just as important is the environment that our student-athletes compete in,” said Raymond. “The NSIC Sportsmanship Award was developed to honor a school that consistently demonstrates a positive environment. Due to the fact that the award is selected by our head coaches and SAAC, it becomes all the more meaningful.”

Bemidji State is one of just three institutions to be bestowed with this distinct honor. Since its inception in 2008 only Northern State University (2008), Bemidji State (2009-2001) and University of Mary (2010) have been selected to receive the award.