NORTH CANTON, OH: For the 7th year in a row, the Walsh Athletic Department has been named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference's finalist for the Division II Award of Excellence. Only 22 finalist were named from across the country. The Award of Excellence is an accolade recognizing initiatives in the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement, and student-athlete leadership.

The Cavalier Commitment was implement by over 750 Walsh student-athletes to appreciate and support sports officials and referees. The initiative focused on creating a culture of appreciation, educating the community about officiating and forming partnerships with local high schools and the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Activities included writing thank you cards to officials, hosting educational sessions with officials like longtime NFL and NCAA official Gene Steratore, and promoting officiating through social media. 

The job of officiating is under appreciated, undervalued and simply forgotten. At Walsh, our Student-Athletes have came together to know, learn, and appreciate the Men and Women who referee our athletic games day in and day out; in the hot and in the cold, and in the unfavorable environments. There simply are not many jobs like it.

The winner will be announced at the NCAA Convention later this month!