UHV named NAIA Five-Star Institution
For the second straight year, the University of Houston-Victoria has been named a NAIA Champions of Character Five-Star Institution for the 2016-17 academic year.
Institutions are measured on a demonstrated commitment to the NAIA Champions of Character program and earn points in character training, conduct in competitions, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions also earn points based on exceptional student-athlete grade point averages and obtaining zero ejections during competitions throughout the course of the year.
The Jaguars strive to be active not only on the field but in the classroom and the community throughout the year.
“It speaks highly of our student-athletes who take being part of the Victoria community very serious,” said UHV Athletics Director Ashley Walyuchow. “We strive to be the best not only in the classroom, but in the community as well.”
UHV student-athletes have taken an active role in the Victoria community and participate in a number of community projects. Among the projects the UHV student-athletes under take include participation in the Sure Bet Mentoring Program in the local schools, helping at the food bank, sponsoring several blood drives, taking part in cancer awareness and fund-raising activities, as well as helping coach youth leagues and providing camps for the youth and challenger leagues.
During the past year the Jaguars dedication to the Champions of Character program stood out as the UHV baseball team earned a national team award and the UHV softball team had the first Red River Athletic Conference Champions of Character Athlete of the Year recipient.
The baseball team was awarded the Hank Burbridge NAIA Champions of Character Team Award during the 2017 Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series. Among the activities the team was recognized for was this past season was their rescue efforts in saving a family of four from a possible drowning situation in the Guadalupe River in Riverside Park.
UHV senior softball player Savannah Crittenden also was named the first RRAC Betty Etier Female Character Athlete of the Year recipient.
In the classroom, the Jaguars had 61 student-athletes recognized as RRAC scholar athletes this past year, along with four teams (softball, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s golf) being recognized as NAIA Scholar Teams.
The Jaguars also had 20 students-athletes recognized on the President’s List this past year, along with 71 named to the Deans’ List.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
