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Duke and Williams Named Institutions of the Year
9/3/2009 3:30:00 PM | Athletics
CAPE COD, Mass. - Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Commissioner Rudy Keeling announced today that Duke University and Williams College have been selected as the co-recipients of the 2009 Jostens Institution of the Year award. The award is given annually to the ECAC institution that best exemplifies the highest standards of collegiate academic and athletic performance.
They will receive their awards on Tuesday, October 6, at the ECAC Honors Luncheon presented by Jostens. Presenting the award will be Jim Dougher, Jostens National Sports Manager and long-time supporter of the ECAC. The luncheon will be held at The Resort and Conference Center at Hyannis, Massachusetts during the 2009 ECAC Fall Convention and Trade Show.
Williams has previously won the award in 1995, 1999, 2001, and 2004, and is the only five-time winner in the 15-year history of the award. This is the first time Duke has won the prestigious award, and it becomes the second ACC school to win the coveted prize (Maryland, 2002).
The Jostens Institution of the Year Awards is based annually on participation and success of an institution's athletic program in recognition of the following selection criteria:
- Documentation and confirmation of academic success by the institution's student-athlete population
- Number of ECAC championships won
- Number of institution's teams selected for participation in ECAC championships
- Number of institution's teams selected for participation in NCAA championships
- Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Points
"We are thrilled to win the Jostens ECAC Institution of the Year Award and honored to share it with a great institution and athletic department like Duke University," said Eph Athletic Director Harry Sheehy. "This award recognizes the highest standard of academic and athletic success and I am thankful for the terrific coaches and student-athletes who have made this possible. The Jostens Award is one that the Williams College Athletic Department truly appreciates and cherishes."
Williams won its 11th consecutive Directors' Cup award in 2008-09 and 13th of the 14 awarded in NCAA Division III with a strong spring campaign that featured the women's tennis team repeating as NCAA champions and women's crew winning a record fourth consecutive NCAA title. Ten Eph teams finished in the top ten in the nation, eight in the top five, including women's crew (1st), women's tennis (1st), women's cross country (3rd), men's cross country (3rd), women's soccer (3rd), women's swimming and diving (4th), men's tennis (5th), women's volleyball (5th,), women's lacrosse (9th), and wrestling (10th).
Williams won 10 NESCAC titles this past academic year, tops in NESCAC, and for the 24th straight year won the most Little Three titles in a year, in a competition with Amherst and Wesleyan that has 26 team titles up for grabs. The Ephs also captured four ECAC titles - men's cross country, women's cross country, women's New England Rowing Championship, and the New England Rowing Championship overall team title. The four titles were tops in Division III and tied with Yale for most among all ECAC institutions this year.
Individually, freshman Logan Todhunter set NCAA Division III swimming records in winning the 100-yard and 200-yard butterfly events, and senior Lauren Philbrook won the 10,000 at the Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Sophomore Ryan Malo finished second at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship at 197 pounds. Senior Macklin Chaffee placed second in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 1,500 for the second year in a row. In the classroom, 165 juniors and seniors earned Academic All-NESCAC Honors. Williams won the Scholar All-American Wrestling Team National Championship for the second year in a row with a 3.54 team GPA.
Duke finished 17th in the final 2008-09 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup Standings, which was released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). This marks the sixth consecutive season that Duke has placed in the top 20 of the annual all-sports rankings. Overall, Duke ended with 891.80 points, its third-highest point total in the rankings since its inception in 1994. The Blue Devils captured two ECAC titles, the women's indoor track and field championship and the men's IC4A cross country championship.
"Duke is extremely honored to be named the 2009 ECAC Jostens Institution of the Year," said Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White. "As the nation's largest athletics conference with 320 member institutions, it is privilege for Duke to be recognized in this way by such a prestigious organization. Not only has the ECAC provided an outstanding platform for achievement in athletics, it has done so in service and academic success as well."
Two Duke squads were ranked No. 1 during the 2008-09 campaign -- men's basketball and women's tennis. A total of six Blue Devil squads were ranked in the top 10 nationally during the season. The women's tennis team claimed its first NCAA Championship and Duke's 10th overall in school history. The men's lacrosse, women's tennis and volleyball squads earned Co-ACC regular season titles. The men's lacrosse team won its sixth overall ACC Championship and the women's tennis team notched its 16th overall ACC title.
Individually, freshman women's tennis player Mallory Cecil won the NCAA Individual title, ITA National Player of the Year and the Honda Award. Coming off earning two bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, freshman Becca Ward won the NCAA individual fencing title in saber. Blue Devil junior heavyweight wrestler Konrad Dudziak was the runner-up at the NCAA Championship. Overall, Duke had 27 student-athletes named All-America and six Blue Devils were ACC champions. Amanda Blumenherst (golf) and Ned Crotty (lacrosse) were named ACC Players of the Year. Crotty was also selected USILA National Attackman of the Year. Mike Grella (soccer) earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year and Chante Black (basketball) was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The Blue Devils had 39 All-ACC selections, and 26 were All-Region.
Academically, a total of nine different Duke student-athletes were selected ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America, while 19 others received National Scholar-Athlete or Academic All-America accolades. A total of 429 Duke student-athletes registered a 3.0 or higher grade point average during the 2008-09 campaign.
About Jostens
Jostens was founded in 1897, and has since become a leader in providing products, programs, and services that help people celebrate important moments, recognize achievements, and build affiliations. Based in Minneapolis, Jostens produces yearbooks, class rings, graduation products, school photography, and products for athletic champions and their fans.
About the ECAC®
The ECAC is the nation's largest athletic and the only multi-divisional conference in the country with more than 300 Divisions I, II, and III colleges and universities. The ECAC stretches from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. Established in 1938, the ECAC, a non-profit service organization, sponsors nearly 100 championships in 37 men's and women's sports and assigns more than 4,400 officials in 12 sports. The ECAC also administers nine affiliate sports organizations and six playing leagues, and through the public relations arm of the conference, more than 2,500 student-athletes in 23 sports are recognized annually. Finally, the ECAC serves as the primary conference for select members in the sports of men's and women's ice hockey and men's lacrosse.
Past Jostens Institution of the Year Recipients:
1995 - Williams College
1996 - Princeton University
1997 - Middlebury College
1998 - Princeton University
1999 - Williams College
2000 - Georgetown University
2001 - Williams College
2002 - University of Maryland, College Park
2003 - Harvard University
2004 - Williams College
2005 - Keene State College
2006 - New York University
2007 - Brandeis University
2008 - Stevens Institute of Technology
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
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