The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) has awarded Bob Jones University the Presidential Award for Excellence for the 2019–20 academic year. The award is given to one Division I and one Division II member institution.
This all-sports award is given based on a program’s finish in each sport over the course of the season and in the national tournament. This is the fourth straight year BJU has earned the award in the program’s seven-year existence.
“This award is a reflection of God’s blessing on the collective efforts of our coaches and student-athletes as they seek to be the best they can be for His glory,” Director of Athletics Dr. Neal Ring said. “I’m grateful for each of our student-athletes, coaches and staff and am very proud of the way they represent Christ and BJU in and out of competition.”
The Bruins athletics department experienced much success during the 2019–20 year with three NCCAA DII National Championships and four NCCAA DII South Region Championships. The NCCAA hosts seven national championships for Division II and the Bruins competed in five of those national tournaments.
The women’s volleyball team repeated as NCCAA DII national champions this season as the team finished the season at 36–5. The men’s cross country team continued their dominant run as the program won its fourth straight national title. The women’s soccer team also captured a national championship this season as the team shut out Grace Christian University 3–0 to capture their fourth national championship in the past five seasons.
Women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s cross country and women’s basketball all won their region championship in the 2019–20 academic year. The volleyball team won their fourth region title in a row while the women’s soccer program won their fifth straight region championship.
It was a memorable year for several programs as the men’s soccer team fell short in the region championship 1–0 to eventual national champion Pensacola Christian College. The women’s basketball team upset top-ranked Pensacola to win the region championship before competing at the national tournament.
After a strong season, the men’s basketball team was upset in the region championship by Johnson University and was not selected for an at-large bid at nationals. Both basketball national tournaments were eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bruins also won several team and individual awards over the course of the year. Cross country coach Landon Bright earned his fourth straight National Coach of the Year recognition while women’s soccer coach Chris Carmichael also was named National Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career with the program. Coaches Mike LeViere and Burton Uwarow were named DII South Region Coach of the Year for women’s and men’s basketball. Fourteen student-athletes earned All-American honors this year while 39 were named Scholar-Athletes by the NCCAA.
Final standings for the NCCAA Presidential Award for Division II programs can be found here. The BJU Bruins feature 14 varsity programs and are seeking membership in NCAA Division III. The program is currently affiliated with the NCCAA as a Division II institution.
Originally published at bjubruins.com
