Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano Named 2011 Recipient of the Bob Fredrick Award
Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano has been recognized as the 2011 recipient of the Bob Fredrick Award, which annually honors an NCAA coach, administrator or staff member who demonstrates a history of sportsmanship.
In addition, the NCAA Committee on Sportsmanship and Ethical Conduct selected national and divisional winners of the student-athlete sportsmanship award. The national winners were Courtney Berger of Nova Southeastern and Louis Day of South Carolina. Division recognition went to Tony Evans and Meredith Hall.
The NCAA Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Awards honor student-athletes who, through their actions in the competitive arena of intercollegiate athletics, have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship. Those include fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility.
The Frederick Award was first presented in 2009 to honor the late Kansas athletics director. Recipients exhibit similar commitments to sportsmanship and ethical conduct, leading by example and promoting positive fan involvement in and out of competition. Like Frederick, recipients of the award are known by their sincere passion for student-athletes and colleagues. Nominations are solicited nationally, and the winner is selected by the sportsmanship committee.
2011 Bob Frederick Award
Chuck Mitrano
Mitrano has been an influential leader in the areas of sportsmanship, ethics and NCAA leadership. He moderated a hazing summit at the NCAA Convention in 2007 and continues to serve as the director of collegiate partnerships for National Sportsmanship Day.
He was named one of the “100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America” by the Institute of International Sport in November 2007. The Empire 8 was also the first athletics conference in any division or level to be named an “All-American Sportsmanship Conference” by that organization.
"Chuck Mitrano has been one of the most effective leaders in intercollegiate sport in terms of fostering a culture of sportsmanship," said Dan Doyle, founder and executive director of the Institute of International Sport and president and chief executive officer of the World Youth Peace Summit. "We have tremendous admiration for Chuck at the Institute for International Sport. We consider him to be one of the great sports educators in America.”
By Marta Lawrence
NCAA.org