UT Martin receives ’22-’23 OVC Team Sportsmanship Award for Beach Volleyball

UT Martin has earned the OVC Team Sportsmanship Award in beach volleyball for the first time in school history.

It’s the third year for this award in the sport of beach volleyball as Eastern Kentucky won in 2020-21 and Eastern Illinois was voted the winner for the 2021-22 campaign.

Implemented during the 2005-06 academic year, the OVC Team Sportsmanship Awards are voted on by the student-athletes and coaches of the respective sports. They are bestowed upon the conference squads deemed to have best exhibited the standards of sportsmanship and ethical behavior as outlined by the OVC and NCAA. Included in the areas for evaluation are the conduct of student-athletes, coaches, staff, administrators and fans.

In 1995, the OVC implemented a first-of-its-kind “Sportsmanship Statement”, a policy promoting principles of fair play, ethical conduct and respect for one’s opponent. The statement answered the challenge of the NCAA Presidents Commission to improve sportsmanship in collegiate athletics and has become a model for others to follow across the nation.

This award caps off a remarkable 2023 Skyhawk beach volleyball season under head coach Jaclynn Wilson.

UT Martin swept both the OVC regular season and tournament championships for the second straight year, making a trip to the NCAA Tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The Skyhawks ended the season by receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top-20 poll for five consecutive weeks after dialing up a school and conference record 27 victories against only nine setbacks.

(UTM Sports Information)