Jan. 11, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University women's cross country team is the recipient of the 2007-08 Women's Team Sportsmanship Awards, announced the Ohio Valley Conference Friday. Eastern Kentucky won the award for the men's teams.

Voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports, the team awards are bestowed upon the Conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators and fans.

This year marks the third year the team sportsmanship honors have been awarded. Samford claimed both awards in the first year while Eastern Kentucky won both last year.

The Samford women's team finished second overall at the OVC Championships and were led by OVC champion and All-American runner Lauren Blankenship, as well as Freshman of the Year Hillary Neal.

"We're very pleased that our peers in the OVC recognized the character and excellence of our women's cross country team," said Samford Director of Athletics Bob Roller. "They are a wonderful group of student-athletes and are very worth of this honor."

"Winning the sportsmanship award just confirms what we already knew - we have an awesome group of young ladies," said Samford head cross country coach Glenn McWaters. "They are not only outstanding athletes, but also phenomenal individuals. They will go out of their way to help someone, whether it is a fellow student or someone less fortunate. I feel privileged to be associated with this group."

Implemented in August 2005, the team honors are the most recent addition to an awards program that recognizes and celebrates sportsmanship within the Conference. In 1998, the league established the Steve Hamilton Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to a male or female student-athlete of junior or senior status who best exemplifies the characteristics of the late Morehead State student-athlete, coach and administrator. Five years later, the Conference added the OVC Sportsmanship Award, presented annually to the member institution selected by its peers to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA.

In 1995, the Ohio Valley Conference implemented a first-of-its-kind "Sportsmanship Statement," a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one's opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics, and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.