INDIANAPOLIS—The NCAA announced finalists for the Division II 50^th Anniversary Gold Award Monday afternoon. The Gold Award will recognize one male and one female who have made a positive impact in Division II. Each Division II conference in the country had the opportunity to submit two individuals they feel best embodies Division II.
 
Ashland’s Kari Pickens and Kentucky Wesleyan’s Roy Pickerill were voted to represent the Great Midwest Athletic Conference as two of 45 finalists.
 
Pickens currently serves as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Ashland University, where she led the Eagles to a perfect 37-0 record and a national championship title during the 2022-23 season. She is the second-winningest coach in NCAA women’s basketball in terms of winning percentage with a 142-15 overall record. Pickens is the only woman in Division II history to win a national title as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. She became the only woman at any level to be named WBCA Coach of the Year, Assistant Coach of the Year, and Player of the Year. Pickens, a former student-athlete at Ashland, led the Eagles to their first national championship title . She currently holds the Division II record for most consecutive double-doubles in a game (34).
 
Roy Pickerill has been involved with Division II athletics for over 50 years in the Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletic Department. Pickerill is a national leader in the sports information industry and currently serves as the SID emeritus at KWC. He has earned several national awards, including CoSIDA’s prestigious Warren Berg Award in 1998. Pickerill was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1999 for his contributions to the sports information field. He then went on to serve as the first president of the Division II Sports Information Director’s Association from 2006-2009 and was honored with the inaugural Roy Pickerill Distinguised Service Award in 2002. Throughout his career, Pickerill’s publications have won 30 CoSIDA awards, including 20 “Best in the Nation” honors.
 
The NCAA Division II Management Council Identity Subcommittee will review these finalists and select the two overall winners, who will be recognized at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix. Winners will be announced on December 11, 2023.