CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Warner Pacific University women’s basketball and College of Idaho men’s basketball teams were named the Les Schwab Team of Character/Sportsmanship award winners Monday morning.
The award, which recognizes one male and one female team, is voted on by the conference athletic directors after schools submit their nominations.
“Each of the athletic departments on our member school campuses are fully engaged in activities that exemplify the NAIA core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership,” stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. “The Les Schwab Team of Character/Sportsmanship awards serve as a way to celebrate the efforts.”
For the last four years, WPU has had a "Sixth Man", Lexi De Los Reyes. Lexi is a 17-year-old girl who has a brain tumor that has left her blind. She has had too many surgeries to count in her short lifetime, but is the most faithful fan of the Knights’ women’s basketball team. When Lexi is able to attend a WPU home game, she is announced with the starting lineup and sits the bench to cheer the girls on and has become an integral part of the team
Once a month, WPU ventures out to downtown Portland to serve the homeless community with warm meals in partnership with Potluck in the Park. On average, the Knights serve between 400-500 people and have built relationships by having a consistent presence.
The Knights also put on “Hoopin for the Homeless” every February, where socks are collected at home WPU games over a weekend and then donated to the community.
The College of Idaho men’s basketball team works with the Caldwell (Idaho) School District to teach all Kindergarten through fifth-grade students the benefits of community service through the Legacy Program. Coyotes held multiple assemblies and taught in classrooms from all six Caldwell elementary schools.
Students from the schools would then get a free ticket to a Yote basketball game for every hour of community service they did (per grade level), recording over 2,000 hours of community service. All of the kids who participated were also honored courtside at their school’s respective home game.
The Yotes also partnered with the Special Olympics to host athletes for a home game, inviting the teams into the locker room before and after the game. The Special Olympic athletes also played during the C of I halftime.
Other female team nominees: Corban University women’s soccer, Multnomah University women’s basketball, University of Providence women’s soccer, Northwest Christian University women’s basketball, UBC track and field, Eastern Oregon University women’s wrestling, College of Idaho softball, and Northwest University volleyball.
Other male team nominees: Arizona Christian University men’s wrestling, Corban University men’s basketball, Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University men’s wrestling, UBC track and field, and Menlo College men’s wrestling.