CORVALLIS, Ore. – Bushnell University’s women’s basketball and men’s soccer teams were named Les Schwab Team of Character/Sportsmanship award winners, announced Wednesday by the Cascade Collegiate Conference office.
The award, which recognizes one male and one female team, is voted on by the conference athletic directors after schools submit their nominations.
Despite a challenging year, Bushnell’s women’s basketball team had a very successful year on the court, in the classroom and in the community. When there was uncertainty of whether or not a season would happen, members of the Bushnell women’s basketball team were strong advocates for all of the CCC – and other non-NCAA Division I – teams in Oregon, working with the Oregon Health Authority and the governor’s office to request policy changes. It eventually led to basketball teams being able to return to play for a spring CCC season. The Beacons won the 2021 Spring CCC Championship with a 9-1 conference mark, ending the year on a 10-game winning streak.
In the classroom, the Beacons boast over a 3.60 team GPA and has three team members with perfect 4.00 GPAs.
The Beacons have been all over their community, partnering with One Hope’s “Project Hope” on multiple projects related to fire relief efforts for victims of the Holiday Farm fires, assisting with assembling and delivering over 1,000 food boxes on Thanksgiving, and spending their Spring Break building sheds in the Bushnell parking lot that were later delivered to families to have somewhere safe and secure to store things on their properties as they are in the rebuilding process after losing everything.
Bushnell also participated in a Christmas Adopt-a-Family program, helping to make Christmas morning memorable for a local youth by showering her with gifts and spent time working at the Eugene Mission's Women and Children’s Center gardening, cleaning kids’ indoor play area and outdoor playground, and deep cleaning in kitchen and dining areas, along with many individual service projects.
Bushnell’s men’s soccer team participated in numerous service projects throughout the year. The Beacons spent an afternoon clearing trails and removing brush at Hendricks Park, a popular local hiking spot, and participated in a Christmas Adopt-a-Family program, helping to make Christmas morning special for a young man in the community.
The Beacons also partnered with local non-profit One Hope on its "Sheds of Hope" project for victims of the Holiday Farm fires. After other Bushnell teams pre-built sheds in the school parking lot over Spring Break, the men's soccer team was able to assemble the sheds on-site, allowing the families a safe and dry place to store their belongings. The team also spent time and fellowship with the fire victims they were serving, getting up close and personal to those touched by the devastation.
Members of the Bushnell team have also been heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, under the leadership of senior Ethan Crofts, who was chapter Co-President.
Other female team nominees: Lewis-Clark State College Women’s Basketball, Southern Oregon University Women’s Wrestling, Warner Pacific University Women’s Basketball, Corban University Women’s Basketball
Other male team nominees: LC State Men’s Basketball, Corban Men’s Cross Country