June 12, 2007
Patriot League Male and Female Sportsmanship Award
Center Valley, Pa. - With its dedication to good sporting behavior and fair play, the Patriot League is proud to announce its 2007 Male and Female Sportsmanship Award winners. In the award's second year, an individual and team were selected for the female category, Lafayette's Ashley Yelland and the Army women's basketball team, while Lehigh's Arthur "Robbie" Walsh was voted as the male award winner.
The Patriot League Sportsmanship awards are open to all Patriot League student-athletes. One male and one female are chosen. Each of the eight Patriot League institutions are eligible to nominate candidates for the award, which is then voted on by the Patriot League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The winners of the Patriot League Sportsmanship Award are then forwarded on to the NCAA to be considered for the national honor.
Yelland performed a single act that embodied the meaning of sportsmanship. The senior women's soccer tri-captain and government and law major went above and beyond at Lafayette's Senior Night, which was the last home game of the season for the Leopards. Senior Night festivities include a pre-game presentation to the seniors on the home team, which interrupts the normal flow of warm ups for the away team that must stand by and wait for the ceremony to conclude. Lafayette's Senior Night game was against fellow Patriot League team Army, whose seniors will be commissioned into the U.S. Military upon graduation. Instead of just letting the Army seniors watch as the soon-to-be Lafayette graduates were celebrated, Yelland presented her opponent's seniors with flowers as well and thanked them for their contribution to their country.
The Army women's basketball team showed great courage in a time of adversity pulling together as one to carry on the memory of Maggie Dixon, who coached the Black Knights during the 2005-06 season and suddenly passed away last April at age 28. While Dixon was only with the team a short time, she made an impact on the student-athletes, cadets, athletic department and the community that will never be forgotten. Dixon coached Army to its first-ever Patriot League Championship title in 2006 and Division I NCAA Tournament debut, but her contributions to the Army women's basketball went well beyond "Xs" and "Os". This year's Black Knight women's basketball team exuded bravery at the first-annual Maggie Dixon Classic, where Army played nationally-ranked Ohio State in its season opener at West Point. The tournament was a celebration of Dixon's accomplishments which included the hanging of both the Patriot League Championship banner and Dixon's Patriot League Coach of the Year banner and speeches by the seniors from the 2005-06 team.
Sometimes teams need a voice of reason to bring them back to why they play the game they love. Walsh was that voice of reason for the Lehigh men's lacrosse team and is characterized by his coach Chris Wakely as the "soul" of the squad. The senior political science major would be the one to remind the team to keep its cool when playing away games that might incite poor sporting behavior from fans and to focus on the games itself. Walsh's commitment to good sporting behavior was a key factor in the presentation of the James "Ace" Adams Sportsmanship Award to Lehigh in the spring of 2006 by the United States Men's Lacrosse Collegiate Committee. The award is named after the legendary men's lacrosse coach James Adams, who modeled the highest standards of class and professionalism throughout his career.